Foreigners
by anni port
Summary: The Evil Queen's curse drew to StoryBrooke victims from well beyond her world. What happens when they wake up and know nothing of the people or events around them? See the awakening of StoryBrooke through the eyes of someone who knows no one's past life. And hopes no one knows hers.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **Own no part of OUaT. The OC is partially my invention, partially literary reference.

**Chapter One**

Vivien was working when the curse broke. She didn't hear the explosion or feel the shock wave that ripped through the town. She just felt the sudden swell of memory burst over her head like a cresting wave, threatening to draw her under.

_Worthless child. I never should have trained you!_

_ What do you want? More than anything?_

_ You can't be human, you have no heart!_

_ Leave him. Leave it all behind._

_ No heart. No soul._

_ Do this and you'll have all you want._

_ Don't do this!_

Her fist curled in so tight that she felt the snapping of bones. Pain. Pain might help. A loud beeping penetrated the fog that was making her mind dizzy. It hadn't been bones that crushed in her grip. Thank god she'd been doing ultrasound. The tiny machine was emitting a frenzied noise to announce the sensors had lost contact. She forced her fist to open and pried out the shattered plastic of the tool. She slammed a fist on the beeping ultrasound to shut off its noise, trying to take ragged breaths that might even her heartbeat.

What just happened? Where had she been? How did she get here? Vivien stared around the room and would've given her rising panic more energy except her patient suddenly began to writhe.

"My feet! Oh god, my feet!" the woman on the table was suddenly kicking and squirming like she was being tortured, trying desperately to get her feet away from whatever pain they felt.

"Lily? Lily? Sit up. Sit up!" Vivien shouted, pulling her patient upright and swinging her feet off the table. She always had the foot bath ready for when Lily came. It seemed to be the only thing that brought any relief to her constant foot pain. The redheaded patient was stifling her sobs with a fist in her mouth. Vivien desperately pulled the foot bath over, splashing herself, the floor and the table as she immersed the reddening, inflamed soles.

Lily settled down. Her sobs of pain evening out into mellow whimpers as tears flowed down her face.

"They still hurt?" Vivien leaned forward, trying to see if there was any blood in the water. No open wounds but that pain had been so sudden! She'd always wondered about the source of Lily's foot pain. It couldn't be work related because she was a swimming instructor. She had just assumed it had to do with the ridiculously high heels the girl always wore.

"No," Lily groaned, burying her head in both hands, "My family! My father. My sisters!"

"They aren't here?" Vivien vaguely knew that Lily had left family behind in some small town inland to come here. But that wasn't true, was it? She felt her stomach sinking like someone had dropped hot coals down her throat.

"I left them. I left them all! I'll never see them again." Lily was sobbing again. She fell forward and Vivien just barely caught her, almost falling off her stool in her speed to intercept. The younger woman was crying into her shoulder for all she was worth and it was obvious there wouldn't be any more answers for a while. But silence meant that her own mind began to fall back in on itself.

Vivien clenched her every muscle as tight as she could, trying to keep her thoughts in this exact moment. _Here. Now. _ The memories hadn't just gently bled back in like forgotten photographs, they'd roared back with the force and callousness of an assault. They were still coming. They sparked and deluged in vengeance at being ignored or denied so long. Vivien bit her lip to stifle her reaction as her mind was ripped open, filled up and plunged into pain. _Like being raped._ She couldn't stop a tear that bled out the side of her eye now. _Again._

Lily finally leaned back and Vivien worried that perhaps she'd accidentally clenched too tight. Whatever her worries, the other woman's expression set her mind to rest. The redhead looked far more composed, relieved from pain. Most of it, anyway.

"Sorry. I – I didn't mean to freak out. It just, I forgot how much it hurt. Like walking on swords." She shook her head but pulled her feet from the soak. The skin was still red but looked like the inflammation had reduced.

"Lily, What -?" Vivien couldn't even finish the sentence. There were so many questions that she didn't know which to ask first. She was the professional here, dammit! She was supposed to be in charge!

"Lille."

"What?"

"My name. It's Lille. Not Lily." Her smile was almost beatific as she rose. She only winced a little as she set her feet firmly on the ground. A twinge of pain shot across her face and furrowed her brow before she squared her shoulders and nodded. She'd always seemed so impulsive and fragile, like a foolish child about to fall from a tree. Now she had been transformed into a creature of strength, drawing from something deep inside her that was powerful if melancholy.

"Ok. Lille," Vivien tested out the name, trying to feel the difference, "Are you sure you're well enough to go?"

"I'm good," Lille nodded once, then grinned, "Better than ever. I'm going to the beach! I feel like I haven't had a swim in . . . forever!"

Vivien watched the redhead sprint from the room, a happy spring in her step that was completely in contrast to the agony wracking her moments before. How could peace return that quickly? Maybe she was just an impulsive child. Besides, she'd been in the pool teaching classes all day yesterday.

There was still no time to be lost in meditation. A noise down the corridor drew Vivien from her office. It looked like a riot. Nurses, patients, doctors, everyone was shouting. Some were dancing, some crying, some even kissing. It was like New Year's Eve met Mardi Gras and picked up Christmas along the way for an angry orgy. She'd never seen this many people so completely lose control of themselves.

Then there was one voice, shouting to be heard over the din, cutting through the noise like a scalpel. Whale. Vivien narrowed her eyes a little. She'd never liked the man. They worked together in the hospital, albeit with completely different focuses but she couldn't stand being in the same room with him. As a doctor he was phenomenal. As a person? He made her skin crawl. He was yelling and ranting about blame, about justice and vengeance and making someone pay. Vivien walked cautiously closer, trying to be invisible. She wanted to bolt to her office, shut and lock the door and hide under her desk until this, this _delusion_ passed. Except she knew, from deep within herself, that the delusion _had_ passed. Now it was time to face reality. A reality for which Whale announced he knew who to blame.

Everyone's emotions were already running rampant. Memories and pains were chewing through hearts and flesh and the crowd so obviously just wanted their culprit. Someone, anyone, that they could blame. They were out for blood and it didn't seem to matter whose. It made Vivien's stomach lurch to see the gleefully vengeful expression in Dr. Whale's eyes. He was going to turn this animal mob loose on someone.

She followed at a distance, terrified of being seen and recognized; terrified of being sucked into the overriding current of emotion that they all were coasting along. Where would it crash? She felt dizzy as they ran through the streets. Maybe she was happy to be running? Maybe the thoughts wouldn't catch up? She ran to stay away, not to catch up.

When the mob stopped at the familiar entrance to a massive white mansion Vivien felt everything at once. The memories, the thoughts, the realities. She stood with both feet grounded but her head swimming. Regina? What could any of this have to do with the Mayor?

She vaguely heard shouting; Whale going on about Regina's blame and what they would do to her. Vivien hung further back, staring at the silent mansion. She heard 'Evil Queen' getting murmured by the crowd. They spat the title, glowered at the house, cursed beneath their breath and then louder. She'd known Regina how long? Since before she had Henry. But how long was that? Why couldn't she really remember?

_I'm naming him for my father._

_You look happy enough to glow._

_I am._

_Happy = healthy. That's all I care about. Now, making sure you get enough sleep . . ._

Evil Queen? Regina? Vivien almost laughed. Sure, the mayor was intimidating. She could be calloused and apathetic as a byproduct of having to set up a strong identity as a single woman. It actually made Vivien respect her more. She was meticulously calculated when it came to getting her way but that had always been to the benefit of StoryBrook, not herself. And, yes, she had a volatile temper and a tongue like a hot whip when she was incensed but Vivien saw no reason that she should be anymore 'evil' than the morons who got mad and threw punches instead of words. Evil. Really? She scoffed a little, wondering if she should try to tell them all what evil _really_ was.

The confrontation with the mayor was confusing. Vivien couldn't follow half of what was said, she just saw everyone go from being scared to cocky. She saw the mayor lose her own arrogant façade and grow nervous beneath her apathetic mask. Vivien felt a frightened knot twist in her own belly. Shouldn't she step forward? Whale was moments away from doing something stupid and violent. The crowd didn't seem inclined to stop him. They couldn't seriously be thinking of mob justice?! This was not the town she knew and loved.

Just as Vivien was clenching her fists to step forward she was pushed aside by a bolting blonde form. She regained her balance on the fence wall and watched as the foreign Sheriff barreled in to the rescue. It was an ugly and tense few seconds before everyone accepted Ms. Swan's command of the situation. They obviously didn't know _why_ she did what she was doing, but no one was about to challenge a physically fit, mentally volatile woman with a badge.

Vivien couldn't help but notice the way the Sheriff's eyes had scanned over the mayor, a split second to assuage her fear. She also couldn't ignore the momentary flash of gratitude in Regina's expression. It was a completely alien look. The mayor was entitled, never grateful. Both expressions were gone as soon as they appeared. The two women squared off once again as enemies and the moment of mutual concern vanished.

Vivien hummed to herself. Perhaps, just perhaps, if she had enough mysteries and questions in this world to ponder she could keep herself from falling back to the past. Anything was better than succumbing to her own thoughts.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Vivien had managed to go home for a few minutes. She'd thought to make some dinner, have a drink, maybe a hot bath and hope that all this would be some fever dream come tomorrow. But the moment she walked into her apartment she'd felt the air grow thick and she couldn't breathe. The walls were smaller and closer than she ever remembered.

_Stupid girl. Too pretty for your own good._

_ What do you want? Tell me anything._

_ What did you do? What did YOU DO__**?!**_

She'd changed her clothes and bolted from the room as fast as possible. She didn't even pay attention to what she put on, so long as it wasn't the medical scrubs too flimsy to protect her from Maine's evening air. She walked fast, trying to make her footsteps mask her heartbeat.

"I'm in Storybrook." She whispered to herself, trying to focus on what she knew to be true.

"I'm a physical therapist at the hospital." She had to pick up her pace to keep up with her heart. The cold air was making it feel like it might pound out of her chest.

"I trained as a nurse but wanted to do more hands on." She ground out the words, trying to force them to be reality.

"I had a problem with forging prescriptions until I got into NA." she could taste bile on every word. Nursing, hospital, PT, meds, college; nothing would hold. She gripped a brick wall to keep from falling. The lies wouldn't stick.

_You'll never learn._

_Close it now._

_Pretty child, you're perfect._

_Don't leave me here!_

She found herself on her knees on the rough cement, grateful she hadn't eaten all day because she was dry retching the contents of her stomach onto the sidewalk.

"Hey, are you ok?" a concerned voice floated from the edges of her consciousness. Gentle hands took her shoulders and pulled her upright.

"Mmkay." Vivien tried to object but her mouth wasn't working right. Her throat hurt and her lips were numb.

"Course you are." The unknown helper supported her body weight and helped her stagger into a nearby door. They were pulled into welcoming light and warmth. Vivien didn't fight as she was steered to a table and guided gently into a chair. She'd had her eyes screwed shut. If she opened them she might be, well, she might be back _there_. Back where her brain was trying to force her to be.

"Drink this." The kind voice commanded, pressing a cold glass into her hands. Vivien obeyed, sipping the drink after only one graceless attempt that had the straw stabbing her cheek. The ginger ale percolated down her throat and into her stomach. After a few more sips she dared open her eyes. At least her mouth tasted of something other than bile.

Scanning the room it took her a moment to realize she was in the White Rabbit. Not usually her kind of place but she wasn't going to object now. Her companion – _rescuer_, she corrected herself – was a young woman of startlingly fair complexion and eyes so blue they almost screamed vacuous innocence. If there were such things as evil twins then this woman was the good half of Emma Swan. Vivien giggled before catching herself.

"Feel better?" the blonde inquired, immediately smiling at the sound of her laughter. She was wearing an ungodly amount of pink. Really. It was worse than pink, it was sparkly.

"Yes. Much. Thank you." Vivien finally managed to speak and noticed that her mouth still felt like she'd been chewing sandpaper. So why did the rest of her feel so much better? She took another sip of the ginger ale before realization hit her. She eyed the bubbling glass.

"You looked like you needed it." The other woman offered with a hint of apology. Vivien ran her tongue around the inside of her mouth, tasting the lingering sticky sweetness. Yes, there was just a hint of acid on the aftertaste.

"Vodka?"

"Always does a wonder for me!" the blonde smiled before gesturing to the bartender to bring her a similar beverage. Vivien thought about objecting. She could outline all the reasons that alcohol was a terrible idea for anyone who'd been vomiting (or close). She could even give her a quick lesson in gastroenterology, complete with technical terms. Except she could tell by the sparkle in the woman's eyes (not just her glittering shirt) that the drink was for her head, not her stomach.

"Have we met?" Vivien set her glass down, proud she got it onto the table on the first try. In one corner of the bar a band was playing punk rock music. She could actually hear it now that her thoughts weren't screaming as loud.

"I'm not sure. I'm Fay. No," the woman paused and her brow furrowed, straining like a beauty queen doing algebra, "No, I'm not. I was. Fay, that is. I'm – my name is Glinda."

"I know the feeling. Nice to meet you, though. Vivien." She reached across and they shook hands. It seemed stupid to try to complicate things with other names right now. Who you are, who you aren't . . .who was really to say?

"Oh, you work at the hospital, right? I think you used to treat my friend,-" Glinda's voice faded and the pained expression was back.

"I , uh, I treated a lot of people." Vivien decided for the diplomatic answer. Perhaps the vodka cure didn't work as well as the effervescent woman hoped. Her face had the lost look of someone traveling deep into her thoughts.

"We weren't friends before here. I thought I hated her," Glinda was lost in her own world of conflicting memories, "But she's been such a good friend. We worked together. We did everything together."

Vivien took a deep drink of her ginger ale and vodka, hoping to smother any reaction. It wasn't that Glinda sounded like she was giving away any intimate secrets. It was more the dreamy look in her eyes that was tinted with an undeniable hint of lust. This was way more than she wanted to know. Best to get out of the conversation, back away slowly . . .

"Where is she?" Vivien's mouth obviously hadn't been keeping up with her brain. Wrong question, dammit!

"I don't know!" Glinda's blue eyes began to well up with tears.

"Hey, hey, it's ok!" for the second time that day she found herself being cried on by a helplessly emotional girl, "If you know her name and where she stayed I'm sure you can find her. It's a small town, right?"

"You don't think she's gone?" Glinda sniffed and Vivien tried desperately to not think about hygiene and what might be happening to her shoulder.

"With what happened today? I don't think anyone is leaving without answers." Viv shook her head certainly. Even if she wanted to run she knew she couldn't. She was going to stay here until she understood everything that had happened. Then she'd run.

"You're right! I didn't even check her place!" Glinda bolted to her feet and was halfway to the door before she realized she was still clutching Viv's wrist. She released her grip with an apologetic blush.

"Go get her." Vivien encouraged, twisting and testing her wrist to be sure no damage had been done. The woman let off a happy squeal and exploded back into the night in a hail of blonde and pink bubbliness. Viv settled back into her chair and drained her drink with a grotesque sucking noise. The bartender, wearing a vintage white waistcoat, appeared to sweep away the glass and take a new order.

"Whiskey. Straight." Was all she muttered as she turned her focus to the live band. She didn't do drugs anymore. Music and alcohol would have to suffice.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

It wouldn't be so bad. So long as she could stay here at this table, not moving except to occasionally pour a little more burning erasure into her brain. God, it was terrible whiskey. Vivien grimaced but continued to stare straight ahead. To anyone else it just looked like she was absorbed in the band. If she concentrated really, really hard, she could keep everything still and silent. Except she was going to have to go to the bathroom soon. Either to pee or throw up; she couldn't tell which yet.

She vaguely recognized the song playing as 'White Rabbit' and she usually didn't like psychedelic music but right now it seemed the most perfect thing in the world to hear. She even surprised herself by mouthing a few of the more fitting lyrics. That had to have been dredged up from college. No. She hadn't gone to college. She only _thought_ she had. So maybe she only _thought_ she knew the words? This was confusing as hell.

_Definitely going to be sick. But pee first._

She rose carefully, hoping that if she didn't let her brain know that she was moving it wouldn't keep up. She just wanted to keep this numb feeling; just a bit longer. God, for a bottle of oxycontin! That was really feeling no pain. She pushed the urge away and stumbled towards the bathroom.

"Nurse Lake?" the voice that called her name caught Vivien by surprise. Lake. Right, that was her name. She spun then waited for the room to stop spinning with her. She couldn't stay in this haze now, not if someone here knew her. _Shake it off._ Sucking air through her teeth she forced her eyes to focus and mentally swept the cobwebs away with an imperiousness that she'd forgotten she had. Some old habits were useful.

"Miss Lucas?" it took her only a moment to place the brunette addressing her. She would've been quicker but she was still cutting through whiskey fumes. Ruby looked taken aback by the recognition, but then she looked surprised to see the therapist in a bar at all.

"Yeah, sorry, I didn't think it was you. I haven't seen you since –." Ruby paused. Vivien knew that pause. It was the pregnant silence of so many of her patients when they didn't quite want to recall why they'd met. Vivien rummaged through her mental file folder. She'd been keeping notes so long she sometimes thought in medical shorthand. _Dislocated shoulder. Something about a drunk guy at a concert._

"That's usually a good sign. Seeing me generally means something's wrong." Vivien played off the awkwardness with a smile and shrug. The best successes in her career were the people she never saw again. _Stop dribbling ironic nonsense. _

"I hardly expected to see you here. Doesn't seem like your kind of place." Ruby nodded to the table with Vivien's jacket still resting on a chair. Fortunately the bartender had been tactful enough to keep clearing her empty glasses. One tumbler of whiskey sat politely half full; very decorous.

"I was," Vivien paused, realizing she didn't have a convenient lie, "Passing by. I didn't want to go home."

"Me either. It's just so crazy out there right now."

"I don't think the crazy is outside." Vivien mumbled, wishing she hadn't had to sober up. Wiping away the alcohol meant she could think clearly again and she did not want that.

"I know." Ruby muttered just as quietly and with a tone of frustration that perfectly mirrored her own. The younger woman avoided her eyes for a moment, letting them both acknowledge each other's sympathetic state. Ruby swept her eyes over the bar, checking it was still the same as it had been every other night she visited.

"You picked the right place. I always come here when Granny's on my ass. The drinks are cheap and the singer's hot." The waitress finally declared, pulling out one of the spare chairs and tilting her head in inquiry.

"Sure. Have something on me. But excuse me for a moment?" Vivien answered the unspoken question before walking as quickly as she could to the bathroom without running. What was going on? Everyone was different. Everything was the same but it wasn't. There were people drinking in the bar that she'd never seen drink in her life. She'd even spotted a couple of the nuns!

Vivien washed her hands and splashed water in her face, hoping the cold would slow down her feverish mind. She gazed at the mirror, the splatter of droplets distorting her reflection. It wasn't the same face that she'd washed this morning. She stared at herself, feeling the whiskey turn to bile. Same color hair, eyes, skin; yes. Same traces of eyeliner and lipstick that had worn off through the day. It just wasn't the same face anymore and the closer she looked the stranger she felt.

Even Ruby had changed. Usually the younger Lucas woman just vibrated with enthusiasm and hormones. She was a one-woman party at all times and didn't seem to mind that she both caused and supplied 90% of StoryBrooke's gossip. She still looked like she was on the verge of doing something inappropriate (that could just be the clothing) but she also looked more self-possessed than ever before. There had been a territorial glint in her eyes when she looked around the bar, like she was surveying her domain.

Vivien emerged from the bathroom, silently congratulating herself that she hadn't thrown up yet. She slid back into her seat across from Ruby and figured the girl didn't notice; her eyes were completely riveted on the band. There was certainly no way she'd heard her, not in all this noise.

"Leo's just a big softy you know." Ruby announced, taking a sip of her drink and still not looking at her. How the hell?

"Which one is Leo?" Vivien gamely played along, trying to work out how she'd been detected.

"The lead singer. He's got all those tattoos and piercings, see? He thinks it makes him look tough. It's just cause he's really such a kitten." Ruby's smile was affectionate if a little predatory.

"You've known him long?" Vivien didn't mean the question like it sounded. She'd just wanted to make conversation. As long as they were talking about banal, superficial things she could keep her head clear. But as soon as the words were out she knew she'd asked the wrong question. Ruby's eyes had darted to hers with a flash of fear and confusion.

"I- I don't know." She looked away, obviously a little embarrassed by the admission.

"Forget I asked. It doesn't really matter," Vivien waved the subject away, "History is for school kids and cheesy romance novels."

"I like Danielle Steele!" Ruby mocked offense but her lips had curled up into a wide smile of relief. Vivien released a tiny breath she'd been holding. Disaster averted. She did _not_ want to be asking those kinds of questions. She didn't want to know anything nor give anything away. Apparently Ruby felt the same.

"What about the other two? Who are they or do you only have eyes for the pussycat?"

"The bass player is Marshall. Everyone just calls the drummer Toothpick."

"Appropriate." Vivien agreed, eyeing the drummer. To say he was skinny would be to credit him with something like a body. The man had the build and definition of tangled coat hangers. She winced slightly, realizing she'd seen him in some of her NA meetings. In a town as small as StoryBrooke it wasn't really Narcotics Anonymous anymore. It was Narcotics Pretend We Don't Recognize Each Other. He had only come a couple times and by the look of him the steps hadn't stuck.

"Sometimes Fay sings with them. She has a really sweet voice." Ruby elaborated, draining a shot and ordering another.

"Glinda." Vivien corrected before she could stop herself. That brought Ruby's attention back around quickly.

"You know who she is?" she leaned forward, curious and skeptical at once.

"I met her briefly in here. She said her name wasn't actually Fay. It's Glinda." Vivien grabbed her tumbler and took a sip of whiskey to end her statement. Mistake. The alcohol might not be affecting her brain anymore (or not as noticeably) but it was still definitely hitting her stomach. She was going to need a _lot_ of water.

"I don't know her." Ruby spoke as though it was a fact full of surprise and wonder.

"Well, I only just met her tonight. I know it's a small town but-,"

"No! I mean I don't know who she is at all! Usually I can at least guess where people are from or I've heard something about them! I've never heard of any Glindas." Ruby shook her head emphatically. Vivien wished she wouldn't do that because it made the room look like it was moving again.

"I don't think they're a race. Just one woman. Although she wears enough pink for an army of Barbies."

"But it's the same with Marshall and the band, I don't know-." Ruby stared at them, then looked at Vivien and her eyes widened again, "I don't even know you."

Lake's stomach coiled itself inside out. She could feel the color draining from her face at the same moment all the blood exploded into her heart. Keep breathing. Stay calm. Do not overreact.

"I don't know you either." She managed to make her argument through clenched teeth. Hopefully her words sounded composed because inside she was falling apart. Ruby opened her mouth, the beginnings of an interrogation building in her eyes. Then the room really did spin.

A massive wind ripped through the closed windows, showering them in shattered glass and whipping everything around them into a frenzied maelstrom. The deafening screeching sound that accompanied the violent whirlwind was too unholy to be nature. Everyone had been blown to the ground and most decided to stay there. A few crawled under tables, lacerating themselves on broken glass. The more advanced drinkers passed out the moment they hit the floor. Ruby and Vivien both jumped to their feet, fighting the gale and its debris until they were in the street.

The sun had set but the darkness settling in the sky was unnatural. The howling came from multiple directions, moving around and echoing off the buildings, impossible to pinpoint.

"What's going on?!" Ruby screamed to be heard over the din. The air was full of panic and danger. Alarms sounded, walls splintered, in the distance there were explosions and a rising chorus of human shrieks behind the wailing and wind. Vivien could feel the danger before she saw it.

"Duck!" she lunged and dragged Ruby to the ground as a car that had flipped sailed over them. The two women had barreled behind a truck, fortunately one too heavy to be blown away but it rocked anxiously. Vivien stared at the sky, observing the violent colors that were swirling into darkness. This wasn't a tornado or hurricane. This was something more . . .familiar.

Ruby's scream brought her head snapping around and Vivien saw the shape diving towards them. Ruby was getting to her feet to run again.

"No!" Vivien knocked her down.

"Are you crazy?!" the waitress screamed as the therapist got to her feet, blocking her collapsed form as the attack hurtled close. The howling monstrosity swooped down, poised for a death strike but stopped short. It hovered in the air, glowing eye sockets boring into her.

_I haven't seen a Soul Eater since I was an apprentice!_ Vivien marveled, staring at the Shadow Being. She could remember turning one loose just to have a hunting competition. Who could find the prey faster? They were like pets; always looking for their next meal, loyal to a point. They were junkyard Dobermans, great for protection but short on social skills.

The hollow gaze lost interest in her and without a sound it swept back into the fog and mist that was rolling over the town. The increasing volume of screams in the distance acted as a sonar, announcing its direction. It was heading to the center of town. City hall? The sheriff's office? Granny's? She didn't take her eyes off the horizon, even when Ruby grabbed her hand to hoist herself up.

"What was that thing?" the brunette demanded with a shaking voice.

"Soul Eater. Someone must have offered up a victim." Vivien couldn't imagine who in this town would summon such a thing, or why. She finally shook herself back to the present and checked Ruby for injuries. When the girl straightened up she limped a little. That dive and roll must've sprained her ankle. Not surprising, given the shoes she was in.

"You looked like you were about to touch it!"

"I – no, I wouldn't. I just haven't seen one in a really long time." Lake swallowed a little, realizing her fingers had indeed been reaching out to the demon. It wouldn't have done any good.

"I never want to see one again. Why weren't you scared?" Ruby had to lean on her a little to walk with her injury. They needed to get her back to the inn and an icepack; it was already starting to swell.

"It's here for prey and I know I'm not who it's after." Vivien shrugged. It was partially true. She knew without a doubt that the monster was hunting. She just left out the obvious: it was a SOUL Eater. It was only a threat if you had a soul. With that thought Vivien decided it was time to calmly throw up.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

****_"I did what you asked. He's gone." Vivien stared into the distance, refusing to let her eyes track the predatory movements of her master. Mistress. Same thing._

_ "I know. I felt it. Did you think I wasn't watching?" the dulcet tone was always at the edge of laughter, teetering on the brink of madness._

_ "I wouldn't want you to doubt." She dropped her eyes to her feet, unable to stare at the wall any longer before her vision blurred._

_ "I never doubted you at all, my dear!" laughter; cold, unfeeling giggles, "I also saw all you learned. Clever little minx; seducing all those tricks and spells out of the fool. Did you think they'd help you?"_

_ "I," Vivien swallowed a lump of despair as truth overwhelmed her, "I hoped."_

_ "Of course you did. That was probably what made you so endearing. Our chivalric heroes do so love a damsel in distress, don't they? Yet for all you learned you're still here."_

_ "I tried." She bit the words, wishing she could pour her hate into a more physical form._

_ "And you did everything I hoped. Even when you didn't want to! Delightful. Now you're back here where you belong. Don't forget this, child. You are mine and no magic in the world will free you," the ageless visage took on a pouting expression, "Fortunate for me you are so pretty to look at. Heavens know your mind is useless. Now, let's see how you can make up for your absence."_

Vivien burst out of bed with such a violent shock that she rolled to the floor. She wrestled and struggled with the sheets before realizing that no other occupant was attacking her. She lay panting on the floor for some minutes, staring at the ceiling as she fought the bile back down her throat.

This was not her bedroom. After 28 years in StoryBrooke she knew quite a few of the local bedrooms and this wasn't one she'd ever seen before. She rose unsteadily and noticed that she was still in her clothes from the previous night. The jeans were stiff from the dried sweat of her night's dreams. The room held only a single bed. Good, that meant she hadn't done anything too stupid last night. Voices were floating up from the floor beneath her feet. Many of them raised in argument. Granny, Ruby, the Sheriff, a handful of others.

Vivien marched into the bathroom to freshen up. She didn't know how she'd come to be tucked in at Granny's Inn but it was a relief nonetheless. Only feeling vaguely human, she made her way downstairs. The sheriff was absorbed in an argument with Ruby and her grandmother. On the sidelines stood a petite brunette and a blonde man – _David!_ Vivien recognized in surprise. She hadn't seen him since his comatose days in the hospital. He looked fully conscious now, and moderately pissed.

"We are going to help her. I promised Henry!" Swan was almost shouting at the Lucas'.

"That thing is an instrument of justice. Regina is to blame for all of us being here. Rumplestiltskin is right; let the soul sucker have her! If it can even find a soul in that evil shell." Granny grumbled completely unfazed by the percolating temper.

"She's right, Emma. I saw that thing; way closer than I would've liked. It's suicide going up against it!" Ruby seconded. That was when Vivien had the misfortune of hitting the noisy stair. Everyone looked up in – well, that wasn't surprise; not exactly fear either. They all looked ready to launch an attack, muscles coiled to a hair trigger.

"Vivien! You saw it! Tell them it's crazy to fight that thing!" Ruby grabbed Lake's resisting arm and hauled her into the conversation. All she really wanted to do was get somewhere quiet and contemplate the facts that were spinning in her head. Regina was responsible somehow. Everyone made that clear. But what and how were total blanks.

"I don't remember much of last night." Vivien dodged artfully. The best lies had a lot of truth.

"You must remember that soul sucking thing! It was less than three feet from your face!" Ruby insisted. Damn the girl. Hints were as effective on her as water balloons on a tank.

"You encountered the wraith?" the small brunette spoke up for the first time. She was impressively in control given the way the whole town seemed to be unraveling. Vivien vaguely remembered her from the hospital as well. Sometimes she'd be there talking to David while the PT took his limbs through standard exercises. School teacher. That was it.

"Just for a second." Vivien desperately wished she could squirm away from all their gazes.

"Whatever. She nearly touched the thing!" Ruby announced, unwilling to relinquish her ace.

"That's gutsy." The sheriff finally turned her full attention on the therapist. Penetrating. There was no other word for those blue eyes. Damn. No wonder even Regina occasionally regarded this woman as an equal.

"Not really. They do a lot of damage but soul ea- suckers," she corrected herself at the last moment, "Can't directly attack anyone other than prey. The rest is all bark."

"And no bite? Interesting," Emma's eyes narrowed and she inspected Lake on a microscopic level, "Well, there you have it. We're at no risk helping Regina. Even if we were, I'm not breaking my promise to Henry. If the soul sucker wants her, it's going to go through us."

There were sighs and grumbles of surrender from Ruby and her grandmother but no further argument. The school teacher and David busied themselves with some strategy planning. Emma was about to turn away and join them when Vivien caught her arm.

"Sheriff Swan? I wanted to thank you." Lake spoke before her nerves got the best of her.

"Everyone keeps doing that," Emma's eyes rolled slightly in irritation, "I really didn't know I was breaking the curse! I appreciate all the gratitude but you're all giving me way too much credit."

"I didn't mean the curse," Vivien interrupted the rant, "I actually might've preferred that life. I meant thank you for protecting Regina. Yesterday and today, whatever it is you're planning."

"You're a friend of Regina?" Swan stared in absolute wonder. Apparently Vivien was the first. Not totally unexpected. She wished it were true.

"No. I don't think she allows herself friends. But I," _careful, girl, don't betray client privilege, _"I know her better than most. I don't think she's what everyone assumes."

Vivien saw that piercing gaze turned on again and realized that the sheriff was surgically analyzing her words, her very thoughts, looking for the lies. Finding none, the blue eyes took on a slightly friendlier shimmer.

"Well, I don't know this Evil Queen people keep talking about but the Mayor can be a real bitch on wheels."

"I think we all can." Vivien replied before she even realized she was speaking. It must've been the right thing to say because Swan hesitated, pondering the statement before she replied.

"Yeah. I guess so." The blonde chuckled her reply before excusing herself with David and the schoolteacher.

Vivien sagged against a wall. She felt like she'd just been through trial by ordeal and barely skated through on the skin of her teeth. It was worth it though; apparently the blonde sheriff had decided some of her thoughts were worth pondering.

"Hey, you passed out last night and I don't know where you stay. Hope you don't mind I brought you here." Ruby appeared in front of her with a mug of steaming coffee.

"If you give me that cup I'd forgive you dumping me in a sewer." Lake held out one beseeching hand. Normally a born tease the waitress was wise enough this time to show mercy and just pushed the coffee into her desperate hands.

"You think Regina deserves protecting? You definitely aren't from our world." Ruby leaned against the wall, a little too close to Vivien's space bubble but she was used to that with the flirty brunette.

"I," Vivien paused again, trying to gauge how much she could safely give away and how much to keep private, "I only know her as Mayor Mills."

The less said the better.

"Really?! Everyone knows the Queen! Sit back, girl. I'll fill you in!" Ruby popped her gum once and proceeded to launch into an epic story. Except it wasn't an epic as much as it was a soap opera. Vivien listened through a haze of disbelief as petty wrongs were traded, mistakes made, vendettas born of betrayal, crimes exacerbating each other; all to the grand culmination of a vengeance so selfish it could only be born of a broken heart. Vivien kept taking sips of coffee to cover over her urge to laugh. She focused on the part with the curse. That was the only bit that mattered to her. When Ruby finally finished she was regarding Lake with an expression expecting marvel, possibly even righteous indignation.

"Fascinating." Was Vivien's less than enthusiastic review.

"That's it? Come on! You have to be at least a little pissed that Regina's stupid revenge ripped you away from your home." Ruby was still digging for the expected reaction.

"I wasn't home at the time. Thanks for filling me in, Ruby, I appreciate it. Oh, and I'll owe you for the coffee." Vivien thrust the empty mug back at her.

"On the house." Ruby muttered, but only the jangling bell of the door answered.

The sheriff's office was still in chaos from the attack last night. Papers were everywhere, desks overturned, all the furniture tossed around the room like toys in a children's playhouse. The only point of calm and order was, ironically, within the occupied cell. Regina was as composed as ever. She was sitting on the bed, back against a wall, apparently staring into the distance. Vivien wasn't fooled. She knew the mayor's body had tensed up the moment she heard someone approach and was currently tracking her every footstep. There had always been something supernatural about Regina's vigilance. Some part of the woman never let go.

She'd come to the jail to ask questions, to get information about the curse. She needed to know about the land everyone had come from and more importantly whether her own land had been affected. Were there others here she might know? How had she been drawn into something so foreign?

The questions had all silenced as soon as she saw the familiar dignity of the Mayor. Everything in the last 24 hours faded to the background and Vivien was simply looking at a patient. One with a long history of pain.

Vivien had pegged her as an abuse victim from early on. She'd never been able to find out much, just the occasional vague answer dismissing old injuries. Professional ethics prevented her from prying but right now she felt the curiosity turning into an urgent demand. The story of the curse had been awfully one-sided. There was lots of sympathy and praise for the virtuous Snow White and very little explanation about the wicked step-mother. Every fiber of Lake's being knew that couldn't be where the story began.

"Can I help you, Miss Lake?" Regina finally spoke, turning eyes full of impatient irritation on her. Vivien hadn't realized that she'd just been standing at the bars staring. She blushed.

"So formal, Mayor Mills. I came to check that you weren't hurt last night." Lake wasn't going to be rattled by the cold greeting. It was part of the routine.

"This doesn't look like your office." Regina pulled that perfect arch of an eyebrow that she so often used to tell the whole world they were inferior simpletons.

"The world is my office, Regina. I once had to bring my equipment down here to work on Leroy's jaw so he could give his statement about starting a brawl." Vivien shrugged and pulled a chair over to sit facing the cell.

"Your dedication is touching but I assure you I'm fine." Regina stated firmly and then closed her eyes, ending the conversation.

"Right. You've been mobbed, imprisoned and attacked by a wraith. I'm sure everything is just peachy." She allowed the sarcasm to roll out. That was routine too. It seemed to make Regina more comfortable.

"I've survived worse." The mayor simply shrugged.

"I know. I've worked on the injuries. Honestly, they make more sense now. 'Car accident,' my ass. You probably were off wrestling ogres. The rotator cuff damage, was that your sword hand?" Vivien leaned forward, making sure she could watch for the glint of amusement in those brown eyes. There it was!

"I left monster-baiting to Charming's people. They had such an affinity for crude tactics. I prefer my battles to have more finesse." Regina turned to her with a smirk.

"So you dislocated your shoulder repeatedly with finesse! Of course! I should've known." Vivien popped her fingers, her expression of mock astonishment pushing the Mayor's smirk closer to a smile.

"Magic can be very physically demanding."

"Then it suits you. Everything about you is demanding. Mostly of patience. Are you going to let me see your shoulder or not?"

"Vivien-," she was starting to object again.

"Ah-ha! You do remember my name. Good! Now, do you remember how these arguments used to go? Do you remember who always won?" Lake rose and began stretching her hands, ready to get to work.

She knew she was going to win. It was too ingrained. Her first year treating the Mayor had been one never-ending argument about schedules, self-care, maintenance and re-injury. Eventually, though, even the high-and-mighty Mayor Mills had realized she functioned better when she wasn't in nagging pain. Not that she'd ever acknowledged being in pain. She was the type of woman who'd suppressed everything down to such a level of denial that you could've stabbed her and she'd just ask if you filed the proper paperwork for the assault.

"Why on earth would you still want to help me?" Regina rose and regarded her through the bars, her words dripping with haughty cynicism. Ah, the distrust. There had been a lot of that early on as well. That had taken even longer to conquer.

"You helped me get my start in this town," _literally, _"I'd like to keep you as an ally."

The Mayor gazed at her silently for a few seconds; weighing her words, analyzing the person behind them. Odd, it was almost the same as Emma's scrutiny. Both women had such heavy armor around themselves and they dissected everyone that came in their path. Friend or foe? Enemy or ally? Vivien wondered if either woman had ever experienced a single moment of complete safety. Or if they had and knew it could be destroyed.

"All right. But please remember I need to use this arm tonight." Regina finally gave in and turned around.

"I promise you'll still be able to kick soul sucker butt." Vivien agreed and reached through the bars.

She'd never had to work in these exact circumstances but adaptability was one of her assets. She tested out the shoulder for movement, limitations, tender points, strengths; the attack had definitely aggravated the old injury. Her occasional command to move was obeyed with grudging sarcasm or a slight hiss of pain. Little by little she felt the restrictions loosen. Movement became easier, more fluid. Even the pain was decreasing, if the fact that Regina's shoulders weren't hiking towards her ears anymore meant anything. Funny, her body always gave away all the things her face didn't. Like the fact that she was actually relaxing.

"Good. Now we can just smooth it out." Vivien commented more to herself, moving into her cool down routine with some light massage into the neck and shoulders.

"I think you just wanted to get your hands on me again." Regina teased. Vivien didn't need to see her face to know she was smiling. She always became more playful towards the end of a treatment.

"Who wouldn't? Sadly, I don't think I'm your type." Vivien sighed wistfully. It would've been more convincing if she didn't chuckle at the end.

"Is that so? And what, pray tell, is my type?" Regina turned slightly, just enough so Lake could see the challenge in her face. Challenge. That was what the woman thrived on. Thus far only one person had presented any.

"Blonde." Vivien answered before thinking. That wasn't good because when she didn't think she tended to say something honest. Usually something that shouldn't be said. The tension that shot into the Mayor's shoulders was like an electric shock. She went from soft and malleable to rock solid in an instant.

"I believe that will be adequate treatment." Regina took a firm step away and spun, nailing Vivien to her spot with a white hot glare. Lake winced a little, not so much from the glower but from the way the Mayor's body had gone whip tight again. It would be pointless to try to apologize. Regina's eyes made it very clear that she felt the whole conversation should be erased.

"I guess it'll have to do," Vivien took a step back, "For now. But once you're out of here I expect to see you for a full session."

"I'll take it under advisement." The armor wasn't budging an inch. Vivien turned to leave, then swung back when a particular realization finally hit.

"You called me Vivien."

"A careless lapse in formality, I assure you." The Mayor's hand moved dismissively. Well, that was regal enough.

"You don't know me by any other name?" she stepped back to the bars again, wanting to get as close as she could to watch for any hint of surprise or deception.

"My dear, I could hardly be bothered to know the names of every life my curse ruined." The eye roll was second to her brow arch for pointedly telling people they were fools. That statement was certainly true enough. Regina Mills was at her most sincere when trivializing the plight of others.

There was noise in the corridor, a set of footsteps approaching. A couple in fact. Vivien shot a look over her shoulder before turning back to the bars a final time.

"You didn't ruin my life. I think you might've saved it." she was gratified to see a hint of puzzle flicker over the Mayor's usually unflappable expression before she turned away. She got to the doorway just as Sheriff Swan and Henry walked in.

"Hi, Viv! Who are you?" the boy greeted her happily. He'd often come with his mother to her treatments when he was younger. He'd loved playing with all the bones she kept for reference.

"I haven't decided yet, buddy." She smiled and ruffled his hair. The demurral went unnoticed by the child but not the sheriff. No time to analyze though, the boy was already running over to his mother in the cell. Vivien smiled at the way Regina melted at the sight of Henry. He always was her soft spot. Emma hovered over them both, hands nervously jammed into her pockets. Henry was full of concern at first, checking that his adoptive mother hadn't been hurt. That segued into a discussion about the wraith and the attack and their battle plans.

"Can I help?" Henry was almost vibrating with excitement.

"No!" both mothers answered in unison. That led to an awkward eye contact between the two women. It drew out for a few seconds longer than comfortable until Regina looked down and Emma ran a hand through her hair. More conversations erased.

Feeling like she was intruding Vivien exited as quietly as possible. Behind her she could hear Emma and Regina arguing on the safest place for Henry to stay until the wraith was dealt with.


	5. Chapter 5

_I keep forgetting to add these comments!  
The T rating is for language.  
Also, I do appreciate reviews. I have an idea in my head of where things are going and what has to happen, but feedback helps feed new thoughts so its much appreciated. I'm actually surprised anyone is reading this._

**Chapter Five**

The rest of that day was chaos. It was actually comforting to have it outside of her head for a change. She'd gone to help at the disaster shelter; treating injuries and distributing medicines, moving from person to person in a role that was mechanical and comfortable. It was only when the sun began to set that Vivien remembered the dangers held in the night. The streets emptied rapidly as citizens fled the terror of the coming wraith. No matter that they knew the unstoppable Sheriff Swan and her parents (a tidbit Vivien had picked up from moving through the crowd) had a plan; they were natives of an enchanted world and they knew, in their very bones, that magic in any form was dangerous.

Vivien couldn't face going home. Her feet instinctively retraced her steps from the night before and she didn't even pretend to be surprised when she looked up at the sign of the bar. _Rabbit Hole, guess I was reading it wrong last night._ She frowned before stepping in. Maybe it had just been wishful thinking that had made her think of the watering hole as the White Rabbit. After all, the bartender did wear a waistcoat.

Sliding into a seat at the bar Vivien noticed she wasn't the only StoryBrooke denizen hesitant to go home. The place was fairly full. Not a single face that she'd seen at the shelters though. Those had all been refugees from the enchanted forest. Here, this was a crowd a bit more jagged around the edges.

She recognized Absolem in the corner. He'd been her dealer on the rare occasion when she couldn't forge a script in time. He had hands in so many different shady dealings that people called him Caterpillar. You'd never think of him as a kingpin, sitting back and puffing a pipe like some jovial grandfather. With him were his enforcers, two brothers dumber than a sack of hammers and given to quarreling. Gods, she'd hated having to ask Dee or his brother to see Absolem, the answer took longer than the visit. The Caterpillar spotted her watching him and nodded affably. Apparently there were no enemies here tonight.

The bartender slid her over a glass of whiskey, the same she'd been drinking last night. She didn't want to drink it. Not the way someone _wants_ to drink but she did want to be drunk. She wanted the quiet that could go with an alcohol haze. She even wanted the throbbing pain that would muddy all her thoughts next morning.

"Hey, there, feeling better?" a familiar voice broke her thoughts and her vision went pink. Glinda had paused at the bar, fetching drinks. She was wearing different pink but still enough to sear a cornea.

"Yeah, thanks," Lake nodded, "And you? How'd the rest of your night go?"

"Great!" Glinda almost glowed with enthusiasm, "You were so right! I found her and we had a long talk and everything is going to be great. She's meeting me here later. Are you here alone?"

"I guess." With all the voices yelling in her head she couldn't always tell.

"Well join us! The band isn't on tonight so they're just chilling." She nodded to the table of three men, all waiting impatiently for their drinks.

Vivien hesitated. She urgently wanted to numb her brain and pass out but she also hated the idea of being the lone drinker at the bar. She might be loath to admit it but she came here not just to avoid going home but to avoid being alone. Alone was too crowded in her head.

Before she could answer Glinda had grabbed her arm and was dragging her over – which was amazing since she was still carrying a tray of drinks as well.

"Guys, this is Vivien. I dragged her in last night." She announced and pushed the PT into an empty chair.

"I saw. You stayed for the whole set. Up until that banshee thing." Marshall greeted and grabbed his beer before Glinda could get distracted again. She was watching the door like a puppy waiting for treats.

"I thought it was a tornado." Leo said wistfully.

"It wasn't. Ok? There are no tornadoes in freaking Maine!" Marshall rounded sharply, making the tattooed man flinch. _Glinda was so right, total scaredy-cat._

"You know we could write to her." Toothpick offered hesitantly. It was the first time Vivien had ever seen him not twitching. Maybe his old self wasn't a tweaker?

"Right. C'mon, use your brain, if you have it! We can't just write to every Dorothy in Kansas!" Marshall, the obvious leader, growled.

"Be nice! They just miss her. Have a heart." Glinda slapped his arm, almost making him spill beer.

"It's been 28 years, Glin. I'm pretty sure she's moved on. We should too."

_Wait. Heart? Brain? DOROTHY?_

"You're from OZ?!" Vivien jerked forward in her chair so fast she nearly fell out of it.

"You know it?" Leo looked up in surprise.

"I, I read it. Or, I remember reading it. Thinking I read it." Vivien hesitated, trying to sort out the fact and fiction in her head. Harder to do when she was sitting and talking to fictional characters. _ Except they weren't. No one really was. I spent half the day tending to panicked people from fairytale land alongside Snow Freaking White and a blue fairy!_

"Me too. The book didn't really do anyone justice." Glinda rested a consoling hand on Lake's, calming her confusion.

"No one ever gets the story right," Toothpi-Scarecrow shook his head, "Look at that bunch in the corner. They look like anything Alice would've enjoyed meeting?"

Vivien regarded Absolem's crew and covered her mouth to keep from laughing. Books. They were all in books! Was that the connection? It couldn't be that simple.

"So Regina's curse just pulled everyone out of their story?" she looked around at the Ozzies and noticed the men were all studiously avoiding her gaze. Only Glinda seemed willing to answer.

"No. We ended up here because these three missed Dorothy so desperately that they struck a deal with someone they _thought_ was the wizard." She explained, giving her ashamed friends a patient and pitying glance. She obviously loved them, idiocy and all.

"Deals. That sounds like Gold." Vivien had been in hock to the pawn broker herself once. She'd vowed to never let it happen again. That had been part of what motivated her to give up the pills.

"He did magic like a wizard." Marshall – _wait,'Marshall' for Tinman?_ Vivien needed a moment to mull that one over. Wasn't that what cops on TV called badges: tins?_ This curse has a sense of humor._

"At least we're better than the Wonderland bunch. They're still working for him." Leo growled at the far table but then cringed when they looked up.

"So the books don't matter." Vivien sighed, sagging back into her chair. No closer to an answer then.

"Books always matter. They may not be direct portals to another world but they can show us anything. Take it from a good witch, they are every bit as magical as mirrors." Glinda assured her with the strength and conviction of an entire cheerleading squad. The woman was insufferably encouraging.

"The only book that matters is the one the kid has. I heard them talking about it in the café a couple weeks ago. All of this is in it; the curse, the Queen, the savior, everything." Tinman contradicted, earning him a venomous glare from the queen of pink.

Vivien knew exactly what 'kid' he meant. There was only one child at the center of everything. _Jeez. Son of the Savior AND the Evil Queen? That's a custody battle made in hell._ Poor Henry. It was fortunate he had as indomitably sunny a disposition as Glinda. He was probably going to need it.

Lake contemplated her drink as a small argument resumed between Tinman and Scarecrow with Glinda trying to officiate. Books were magic; that wasn't news to her. In her experience most magic started with books. Everyone in StoryBrooke was a piece of a story, many stories, all woven together and tied up in a big cursed bow. Which meant that she was too.

She'd been avoiding that particular thought like a broken tooth in her mouth. She knew her story was out there. She'd been trying not to think of all the ways her world had been represented here. Old friends, lovers and enemies had all made cameos. They hadn't just been left on pages but brought to life on TV and movie screens. And she'd watched them for 28 years without a clue that she was watching a travesty of her life.

_I wasn't in the movies._ The thought was electrifying when it seared across her mind. Her role hadn't been brought to light, which meant it was still lurking on a musty page somewhere. Someone had to have told her story or at least a version of it. It might be just as trite and full of holes as Ruby's version of Regina's crimes but it would have to hold some clue, some explanation of how she got here.

"Oh good! She's here!" Glinda shot to her feet and waved to someone just walking in. Vivien shook herself from the swell of thoughts and excitement that had engulfed her. She looked to the door and saw a dark haired woman taking off her jacket.

"Wow." That was all she could manage. _She really is green!_

"This is so wrong." Tinman muttered as Glinda went and hugged the new arrival hello.

"Yeah. You know, it's late. I have to go." Vivien was on her feet and tossing money on the table before Glinda's effusive enthusiasm could stop her. She had only a moment to exchange glances with the newcomer as she passed. She looked like she wanted to be running away too.

"Good luck." Lake muttered before escaping the bar. Even the dream of being drunk had lost its appeal. She needed to get on the laptop and get to work. Home no longer held any fears. The sooner she got there the sooner she could begin.

Vivien woke the next morning with the sunrise. She'd fallen asleep with her face buried in her notebook and a fair amount of ink smeared her cheek as she blearily lifted her head. She looked at the pages of notes and smiled. She had lists of everyone she knew in StoryBrooke. She had diagrams of biographical connections as she knew them thus far. She had notes on key characteristics of the 50 best known fairytale characters, thanks to the one book in her house that wasn't a medical or anatomical reference work.

She thumbed the pages affectionately. It had been a gift from August when he'd first come to town a few years before. He'd barely stayed more than a day, the chilling welcome of a town unacquainted to visitors allowed nothing else. He'd said he was looking for something, just passing through. That was perfect for Vivien when they met that evening by chance. She'd found it unnerving that in his sleep he called for his father and was fairly relieved when she woke the next morning and he was already gone.

He'd left the massive soft cover book behind. The inscription in the front said he liked to leave books with everyone he met. Until now she'd accepted that at face value. Now as she leafed through the pages she wondered if he'd chosen it on purpose. Maybe he'd been trying to give her a hint? _Impossible._ He of all people wouldn't have a clue about who she was. Pinocchio. Ruby had explained him in the drama of breaking the curse. Vivien almost snorted at the thought that any tangential causality could have had _her_ life intersecting with Geppetto's puppet. Besides that one night, of course.

The huge book was an encyclopedia of fairy tale characters. From Disney movies to Zulu folk tales they were all there in alphabetic order and grouped according to origin. It would take weeks to read the whole thing so she'd focused first on all the stories she recognized. She'd also decided it was safe to skip the Urban Legends section.

She rose and cursed her desk chair as she felt the stiffness in her joints. Her mind drifted as she went through her morning stretching routine. Of all the fairytales she'd read not a single one had connected with her or her people. It would be a fun exercise to try matching them with their counterparts in StoryBrooke. She smacked herself for her stupidity when she read the Little Mermaid and realized why Lille's feet always hurt. _No therapy for that._ Others were more mysterious. Was Sleeping Beauty here? She hadn't come across any narcoleptics. The handful of identified characters was nothing compared to the mountain she didn't know.

Noise drew her to the window and she saw people were starting to rise and trying to put the town back together. A fair number were heading back to the town center where the disaster relief zone was still set up. Some of them were limping. Vivien didn't even pause to think before throwing on clothes and jogging down to the emergency aid area in the square.

There were still a lot of people confused, injured, homeless and in almost every case, despondent. The town might as well have been hit by a hurricane. The wraith's second appearance hadn't done as much damage but they were still reeling from its first attack. Rescue teams had been doing a systematic search of the all the houses and were bringing the victims here since the hospital wasn't functioning. Most likely because Whale still hadn't pulled his head out of his ass.

With that new found compendium of characters still rolling around in her head Vivien found herself scrutinizing every person she saw. Maybe that was Cinderella? Some of the men had beards but none of them were blue. Was Peter Pan more likely to be that teenager running around or the grown man flirting with Ruby? After reading the Pied Piper and picking up some pedophilic undertones Vivien genuinely hoped he wasn't in StoryBrooke. What about Aladdin; should she genuinely expect him to be Arabic or could he be anyone of humble means?

"Oh good, I hoped you'd come back today." The Mother Superior who was handling first aid smiled gratefully as Vivien approached. Lake tried to think of her as Blue the fairy but it just wouldn't stick. Especially when she was still wearing the habit and crucifix.

"Is it just me or does everyone look even worse?" Lake looked at the crowd. The curse had been broken for two days now and apparently the excitement was fading.

"Well, they're just worried about Emma and Snow. It's hard for a people to be reunited with their leaders and then lose them so suddenly." the nun's smile turned sad.

"The sheriff and her mom? What happened?" Vivien felt a fist of ice clench around her stomach. She'd told them. Just yesterday she'd assured them that the Wraith couldn't hurt them. Emma had used Vivien's information to justify her decision. Had she really been wrong?

"They got pulled through the same portal as the wraith. They're back in the Enchanted Forest. If there's anything there." The woman's words rattled bitterly as she fought tears.

"Yeah, convenient for Regina." Ruby appeared beside them with another crate of supplies. Vivien began assembling a kit for her rounds.

"We don't know what happened, Ruby." Mother Superior chastised but her heart obviously wasn't in it.

"At least she doesn't benefit. Henry is staying with David. The Queen can go savor her victory in her big empty mansion." The waitress growled and stomped off with a sheaf of papers.

Vivien numbly grabbed her equipment and began moving along the rows of injured. Fortunately she could do first aid work on autopilot; her hands and mouth worked independently of her mind as it whirred away. Swan and Snow gone? That wasn't good. They seemed to be the linchpin that was holding the whole town together. Everyone wanted to blame Regina. It was easy, like a habit. Curse? Blame Regina. Disaster? Blame Regina. Burnt soufflé? There had to be a way to blame Regina.

No one seemed to understand that wraiths couldn't be manipulated. Soul Eaters couldn't be fooled, bought or bargained with. If Regina was the target she wasn't going to be able to trick it into taking Emma instead. It had to have been an accident. Not that anyone else could see it that way. Vivien could hear the angry murmurs and muttering as she walked along the ranks. She realized her fingers clenched a little each time she heard someone curse Regina. Every time the word 'evil' was thrown about so easily as a label she felt the urge to stab someone. _Easy. I don't do that anymore._

"That evil bitch deserved to die." The man Lake was bandaging spat. She dropped the roll of bandage and tape. Clenching her fists she stilled the shaking.

"Wraiths don't kill. What they do, no one deserves." Vivien fixed him with a hard glare. She didn't need to get a reputation as defender of the hated Queen but she wasn't going to let anyone shoot off their mouths about things they didn't understand. _Besides, isn't she suffering enough?_ Vivien thought of Henry being with David. That probably came closer to killing Regina than any monster or weapon ever could.

She pulled herself from those thoughts when she heard Henry's familiar voice. He and David were talking to Mother Superior about trees and fairy dust. Vivien rapidly finished her patient and moved closer to listen. Tree? A tree brought Emma here? _Isn't that interesting._ She gazed at her fingers, wondering if the old magic was still festering dormant beneath her skin.

Then Leroy's gang burst into the scene full of panic and shouts. She had trouble thinking of them as dwarves. Maybe just vertically deprived. They were talking about the town line and being unable to cross it. Everyone stared at Tom (Sneezy?) as if he was the personification of their worst nightmare. Lake just felt a little jealous. He was back to a simpler life. He knew who he was and where he was. He might not understand why everyone else was acting crazy but he certainly seemed content with the reality he knew. No more having to reconcile two identities. No more having to pick sides.

As everyone fell back into loud, worrisome conversation Vivien watched David stride away. He moved with tremendous purpose but Vivien could see the worry in Ruby's eyes when she turned back. The man had no clue what he was doing. Well, someone did say that public speaking was 90% how you look and sound. What you said wouldn't matter.

"Scuse me." A small voice accompanied a light tug on Vivien's sleeve. She looked down and found a little blonde haired girl who looked like she'd been recently crying.

"Uh-oh, are you hurt?" Vivien dropped to her knees to begin examining the child. She received an emotional nod and the girl lifted her pants leg to show her injured calf. There was definitely quite a bit of bruising and a lot of gravel and dirt stuck to the skin. Lake gently palpated and found no swelling or heat. There was one nasty looking gash below the knee.

"Oh, ouch, honey! Here, sit down. Did you fall?"

"I was trying to catch my teddy bear!" the girl hugged her stuffed animal even tighter. Vivien couldn't help smiling. It was the least of all the injuries she'd seen today but to her it was the most important she could treat.

"I would have done that too. You just give him a nice big hug while I clean off your leg, ok?"

"K." the tiny voice was muffled behind the teddy bear that she was already squeezing as tight as she could. The kid couldn't have been more than five. Where the hell was her mother? Did she seriously just wander over here on her own? Vivien briefly scanned the crowd as she poured some antiseptic onto cotton and began wiping all the dirt away. The girl flinched a little when she brushed the cut or a bruise but otherwise was quiet.

"Very good! Your bear must make you very brave. What's his name?" Lake asked as she brushed some antibacterial ointment over the cut.

"Baby." She answered with all the pride and simplicity of a child who thinks such things are self-evident. It's a bear, duh; Baby!

"Ok. Well, now I'm just going to wrap some bandage around your cut so it can't get infected." Vivien grabbed the roll of bandages and began working.

"That's too tight!" the girl complained on the third pass. Vivien nodded and apologized. She hadn't thought she was pulling too tight but children could be more sensitive. She pulled some slack into the wrap and loosened it.

"Now it's too loose." The second complaint bordered on petulant and ordinarily Lake found unjustified criticism annoying. In this child's pouting expressing it was just funny. She unwound the bandage and began again, pausing at each pass to be sure she didn't hear any complaints. When she finally finished and taped it in place the girl rose and tested it out.

"Just right?" Vivien couldn't stop herself from asking, no other words would work at this moment. The little blonde grinned up at her and nodded.

"Gilda! There you are! How many times have I told you not to wander off!" a blonde woman raced over to them and caught the girl by her shoulders, quickly examining her for injuries and immediately zoning in on the bandaged leg.

"I'm Nurse Lake," Vivien quickly leapt to explain and rose to her feet, "She came to me with a cut on her knee so I cleaned it up."

"Thank you!" the woman smiled gratefully, "Gilda, did you thank the nurse?"

Gilda shook her head and then immediately threw both arms around Vivien's legs in a massive hug. The therapist bent over to hug back and chalked up the sting behind her eyes to sleep deprivation.

"How on earth did she get a cut on her knee?" the woman wondered as she took her daughter's hand to keep her from vanishing again.

"She said she was chasing her teddy bear." Vivien shrugged.

"Of course she was. I swear, child, you and bears!" the woman rolled her eyes in exasperation. Lake felt something scratching in the back of her mind. Something important.

"Does it happen a lot?" she finally managed to ask as mother and daughter were walking away.

"The stories I could tell you!" the mother called back over her shoulder. Gilda turned back as well and gave her a final grin. When the sunlight caught her at that angle was when Vivien realized: her hair wasn't blonde, it was gold.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Vivien rang the bell before she talked herself out of it. Her head was spinning from the rapid change of events in the last few hours but then it had been little more than a carousel on high speed for days now. She was starting to get good at focusing on the distance to make the world make sense. The tick-tack of high heels clicking across a marble floor was a tiny arpeggio prelude to the sweeping sigh of the door opening.

"I didn't know your profession was in the habit of 24-hour follow ups." The mayor looked surprised by the visit but not the visitor. Maybe there were only a handful of people who'd ever dare to ring that bell?

"My only professional habit is annoying doctors. Beyond that I just follow the chaos principle." Vivien shrugged and smiled. This was the easy part. Banter she could do; it was familiar and comfortable and she never ran out of replies. Plus, she loved matching wit with Regina; the woman's mind was as sharp as her tongue. It was rather like dueling. Now there was a practice she missed!

"Chaos led you here?" Regina kept her hand on the door, a clear indication that Vivien was not going to be invited inside. On the other hand, she hadn't slammed the door or magically blasted her unwelcome caller across the yard. Perhaps she enjoyed the banter too? _Feint, lunge._

"You must admit it never seems far from you these days." _Parry, attack. _It was almost uncanny the way hysteria, destruction and panic seemed to flow around the petite brunette like a cloud. The humor was in the sheer irony of it: a woman so completely in control leaving a wake of pandemonium everywhere she gracefully went. Sadly, Vivien gravitated towards it like a bug to a zapper.

"I am hardly accountable for everyone else's melodramatic need to overreact." Regina was enjoying the dance. _Riposte!_ There was a reason so many fencing terms paralleled communication: conversation, insistence, point, invitation. _Stay on your toes, retreat._

"Yes, they're all quite theatrically heading for the town line. I guess you're going to be my only patient for a while." _En garde and thrust._

"You do know why they're leaving?" the Queen leaned closer, allowing Vivien to see the wisp of purple smoke that passed through her eyes. _Direct. Have to stop cut._

"Of course. I have to hand it to you, Regina; plenty of people can clear a room but you emptied a whole freaking town. Very impressive." Vivien nodded. She was supposed to be scared. The Evil Queen had her powers back and everyone was terrified. That was what Regina wanted. Fear was power and power was safety.

"So why haven't you left?" _Ouch! Balestra._ The Mayor was getting a little impatient. She didn't like things she didn't understand and right now she obviously didn't understand why Vivien was standing on her porch apparently oblivious to her peril. She was regarding her the way a scientist might look at a rat who'd decided to make a nest in the maze.

"I hate packing." Lake kept her smile steady. _Yielding parry_. She had thought of leaving. She'd thought of little else since Leroy announced that the town line was the magic door back to life as it was a few days ago. It was only when everyone else had the same idea that she suddenly reversed her thinking. Bloody contrary nature.

"And why are you _here_?" Regina leaned in again, this time with an edge of obsidian in her gaze. The attack was too direct. In a fencing match Vivien would've just heard her sword clatter to the ground.

Ok, banter over. _Crap._ She'd been trying to figure that out herself on the walk over. After the stampede out of town hall and the mass exodus of vehicles carrying StoryBrooke's population away Vivien had simply followed her instincts. What was she looking for here? What the hell could she say? _The more everyone hates you the more I want to be your friend. You can't be what everyone thinks. I know it. I know because I'm not. I know what you're doing is costing you some terrible price._

Yeah, she couldn't say any of that. Regina had that damn 'lie detector' look in her eyes again. For Sheriff Swan it might've been a born gift but for Regina it was a learned skill. Two kinds of people know lies intimately: people who have heard them all their lives and people who have used them. Vivien had a bad feeling that the brunette was a combination of both. She couldn't tell her The Truth but she had to say something true.

"Everything and everyone has changed except you. You're still Regina. That makes you the only person I feel comfortable around." Lake looked away, cursing herself for her cowardice.

"What is that, some pathetic attempt to pluck at my heart strings? You can stop trying to manipulate me right now, dear. I. Have. No. Heart!" Regina ground the words out through clenched teeth. She went to close the door but Vivien's hand shot out and held it in place. Even with Regina's strength and magic both trying to slam the door she couldn't budge it an inch. Vivien held her ground, anger bringing back the strength she'd forgotten. She leaned in close, making sure Regina would feel the breath of her words.

"And I have no soul. So stop trying to scare me." Lake brought the hard reality into the open like a cold splash of water. This time she didn't look away. Regina wanted her scared and it wouldn't work. Regina had lost a piece of herself; well, so had Vivien and she was pretty sure the piece she lost was worse. At least hearts could be restored. Souls were a lost cause to anyone but a dishonest priest.

Regina must have known all this. Or perhaps she saw it in the determination of Vivien's face. With this admission came the knowledge that they were equals in iniquity. There could be no judgment, only empathy. Without a word the Mayor stepped back from the door, allowing Vivien to step inside. In the immaculate marble entryway the click of the door closing echoed like a gunshot.

"Who _are_ you?" Regina had her arms crossed in her typical defensive/demanding stance. How honest to be? A part of Vivien was screaming to tell her story, to let at least one person know who she was. Why not confide in the one person whose sins were almost as bad? She longed to lighten herself of the burden of secrets. _I don't know why I'm here yet._ The cold thought sobered Vivien. She had to work out the why before she started giving away the who. For all she knew the curse had brought her to this world to resume some evil purpose. Hell, maybe her mistress had wanted this all along.

No, telling her story wasn't an option yet. Regina's curiosity, however, had a dangerous glint of threat underneath. Any lies or deceptions and the scientist would get answers out of this lab rat by dissection.

"I'm someone who knows what it's like to be labeled the villain." Vivien finally gave away that much of her herself. She was getting good at this truth without Truth style of confession. Regina weighed this statement as well, calculating if it was enough.

"It can hardly be called a label when it's your identity." She finally dismissed the hurtful title with a casual smirk and turned to head into the study. Vivien sighed inwardly, both in relief that Regina didn't press the matter as well as sadness for the hint of resignation in her words. How long could you listen to people call you evil before you believed it?

"There are certain freedoms to not having to measure up to standards of good," Vivien agreed as she followed, "But villainy has its own requirements too. I personally found it a bit tedious; always having to kill small animals, inhaling all the smoke from burning villages and torture all hours of the night! I hardly ever got my beauty sleep."

Regina's laugh was so melodious it was shocking. Had ANYONE ever heard that? Not the evil chuckle or scornful sound she used day to day but the true ringing expression of good humor that had just graced the air. It made Vivien feel like she'd just won a prize.

"I like the smell of burning huts, personally. I did hate how dark the castles always had to be. Impossible to keep them clean when they're shrouded in so much shadow. And the dungeons were positively unsanitary! I think I killed all my prisoners just so I could avoid going down there." The mayor smiled and poured two tumblers of amber liquid, handing one over to Vivien.

Lake glanced around the room she was in, full of light from all the windows and so spotless that every surface gleamed. She was glad that they had come to this world and she had learned terms like OCD because it was the only way to describe Regina's standard of cleanliness. She could smell the apples before she tasted the liquid on her tongue. The sharpness of the alcohol was cut by the fragrant flavor. She might even take this over whiskey.

"The dress code wasn't all bad though. I much prefer black to pink." The image of Glinda still hovered in the back of her mind and made her shudder.

"True. I rather miss all my leather. These power suits seem a bit tame by comparison." Regina's mind was far away, lingering with chain mail, leather pants and sweeping cloaks. Vivien glanced over the Mayor's current garb. She was wearing a dark skirt and silk shirt that might've been harmless on anyone else but on her seemed to blend bitch lawyer, S&M and an IRS audit. _Scary enough to me._

"I think the worst of it was the way everyone assumed being bad meant you didn't care what anyone thought. They had no idea that controlling their opinions became a full time job." Vivien sank into a couch, suddenly weary from the memories. Regina sat across from her, lounging in a wingback chair with regal poise. Anywhere she sat became a throne.

"Lose their fear and you lose everything. It's all about image." The brunette agreed, words that sounded like a lesson she'd learned by rote. Who had forced her to repeat that line until it fell from her lips so instinctively? Did the Mayor know that her lip twitched ever so slightly as she echoed those ancient words? Perhaps she'd once found the lesson as distasteful as Vivien did now.

"I used to secretly feed a stray kitten that lived on the grounds. He would wait by the kitchen door after the servants were asleep and I would sneak out and play with him." Vivien leaned forward and confessed. Why hadn't she ever bought a cat in this world?  
"What happened to him?" Regina must've heard the melancholy beneath the words. Lake took a swallow of cider. _My mistress found out and killed him._

"He ran away." Vivien shrugged and didn't elaborate. Regina took a sip of cider contemplatively. Lake knew that the Mayor recognized her lie. What she couldn't fathom was why the suspicious woman didn't press her further. Perhaps she was familiar with the flavor of that particular falsehood. 'He ran away' concealed a very specific pain. It was always loss.

"I attended every birth in the families of my servants. As a midwife. They all thought it was to cast spells or protect my investments," she quirked a hint of a mischievous smile, "I just loved getting to see when the children opened their eyes for the first time. The whole world is possible for them in that second."

Vivien stared. The Mayor's expression was almost beatific. How many children had she held before she finally had one in her arms that she didn't have to give someone else? How many children might she have had if she hadn't been forced into this role?

"Too bad you couldn't have seen that with Henry."

"With Henry it was different. I didn't need to be there for his birth. I prefer not to think of it in fact, seeing as it was a prison infirmary. He was asleep the first time I saw him. He was fussing in his dreams so I picked him up and when he woke and opened his eyes," Regina paused, far away, "The whole world was possible again. For both of us."

Vivien wasn't an emotional person by nature. It was just that the last few days had been a total roller-coaster. It was a combination of new experiences, weird thoughts and a lot of late nights without sleep. That had to be the reason she felt like crying for the second time today. It couldn't possibly be because a wave of emotion more violent than a tsunami accompanied Regina's words. The nostalgic happiness of her words was at war with the sad reality in her eyes. Nothing had turned out the way it was supposed to.

"How's he handling all these changes?" Lake instinctively looked up at the ceiling as if either of them had x-ray vision to see what Henry was doing at this moment. Well, Vivien knew she couldn't see through walls but she had no clue on the scope of Regina's powers.

"Henry is a very intelligent boy. He'll adjust." The queen's brighter, fixed smile came back into place; the smile that said everything was fine and she was in total control. _Bullshit._

"So he's furious and not talking to you." Vivien translated. _Yeah, nothing like seeing your mom almost kill your grandfather and then set fire to the town hall._ StoryBrooke's city logo did need some updating.

"He's upset about Miss Swan and Snow White." Regina scowled. The recent events had been frustrating for her, which meant she _hadn't_ been in control at all. Mobs, wraiths, revenge and a son on the verge of puberty – no wonder she'd sought the refuge of magic, nothing else could fight all of that at once.

"I heard about that. What happened?" Vivien set her drink down and leaned forward. The cider was delicious but it was too good; she was starting to feel relaxed and that was dangerous. Conversing with Regina was not a time to let her guard down. Particularly not when the queen looked as agitated as she did now. She was trying to make sense of the events as well.

"She pushed me out of the way. Miss Swan had helped me get the magic working and I was so surprised that I wasn't watching the Wraith. She knocked me down and away from its path. I thought she had safely dodged as well." Regina glared into the distance. She hated Emma Swan too much to admit she was grateful to her or worried even slightly about her. Hate was easier to control. Far more productive too.

"So the Wraith got her." Vivien frowned. She knew, in absolute terms, that no Wraith could hurt someone unmarked. Which meant it couldn't have harmed Emma. So wherever she was, she was safe. To a given value of safety.

"And Snow White chased after them. She couldn't bear to be separated from her daughter." Regina rolled her eyes a little. She obviously thought such heroics to be overly theatrical.

"You'd have done the same." Vivien realized she should've included more qualifiers in that sentence. Regina's brown eyes lit up like burning coal.

"I wouldn't lift a finger to help that meddlesome woman." Her lips snarled and Vivien didn't doubt that Regina believed her words. So it wasn't really worth pointing out that Lake herself didn't believe it for a second. Vivien could just feel that at some point Emma was going to end up owing her life to the Evil Queen. She simply doubted either of them would ever acknowledge it.

"I meant for your child. Snow went after her daughter; you'd do the same for Henry. Hell, you'd do that and more." She held up her hands in surrender, coincidentally readying some deflecting magic if necessary. Regina settled back, off the offensive. She took a sip of cider to cover her chagrin over how quickly she'd leapt to the wrong conclusion.

"I'd do anything for Henry. I just wish he could see that. He wants nothing to do with me. I even offered to teach him magic." She adjusted a piece of hair that had fallen into her face during her flare of temper.

"Magic." Vivien's fingers went numb.

"I thought he would leap at the chance since he's so fascinated by the world we came from." An irritated sigh.

"Magic. You offered to teach him magic." Vivien repeated the phrase again, trying to force the words into a different meaning.

"Even simple parlor tricks have their uses." Regina shrugged and waved a hand, levitating the bottle of cider over to top up both their glasses. Now Vivien did need the drink, desperately. She took a long gulp, letting the alcohol burn away the words that were trying to claw up her throat. She was clenching every muscle, near trembling, trying to keep control and not explode. She could see it so clearly, the anger bursting out and blowing the nonchalant mayor across the room. She felt the rage cracking her self-control and tiny sparks of magic were flaring everywhere in her mind.

"Regina," she paused, waiting for civil words to surface, "Have you lost your mind?"

"I beg your pardon?" that arched brow again, the Queen wasn't a fan of criticism.

"Magic? You want your son to learn magic? He's eleven!" she couldn't keep the disbelief out of her voice.

"Young, I know. But as I said, he's very intelligent. I'm sure he'd learn quickly." Regina allowed her pride to slip through. Henry might not be her blood, but she'd definitely fashioned his mind and it was as fast and skillful as any adult.

"Is this what you want for him? This life you have? Because this is what magic would do!" Vivien was on her feet; she knew her voice was rising but she couldn't stop it, "You know what magic does to people! You know what it costs! Do you want him paying the prices you've paid?!"

"Don't you dare presume to know what I've sacrificed." Regina rose to her feet with the slow menace of a lion.

"And why? Because magic is hungry and selfish and wants absolute control. Because anything that gets in the way is destroyed! Magic is worse than a crutch, Regina, it's a damned addiction!" Vivien wanted to grab the woman and shake her. How long had it taken her to learn that lesson? It had come to her so late, after so many sins. Magic wasn't just a power, it was a force of nature and such forces have laws. The more you fought them or sought shortcuts or thought you were cheating the world, the harder the punishments came back upon you. Magic was a hungry animal that grew strong on the minds and might of its users.

"Only for those who can't control it." Regina's contemptuous glare was worse than a blow.

Vivien stepped back, stunned. _How dare she? The upstart bitch!_ The swell of fury and pride almost ignited a spell in her fingertips. _Teach her a lesson!_ Lake shook her hands out, snuffing the magic. The words in her head weren't her voice. It was the petty, arrogant and vengeful tones of one that she'd sworn she'd never become. She knew where that route led. She closed her eyes, waiting for her thoughts to become her own again. When she opened them again even Regina's satisfied smirk didn't bother her.

"I'm sure that's what you want to think. That's what all of us think, that we're in control. You're not, Regina. When have you _not_ used magic to fix your problems? Look at your life. Even these last few days! David says something upsetting and you nearly use magic to kill him. Henry doesn't want to live with you? You use magic to force him! Hell, if there was a spell that would make him love you, you would probably use it."

"How dare you-!" Regina's hand was moving, charging a spell. _Shit._ Vivien was definitely getting through, but she was not getting the reaction she wanted.

"Your magic scares him, Regina! It scares everyone! Why would you want to do that to him?! Feared or loved, Regina; you can't be both!" Vivien was talking faster now, hoping she could hit the right part of her audience's soul before she got blown out a window.

She sensed the blast right before it hit. She could've deflected it or at least put up a shielding spell to absorb most of the force but instead let it cannon into her. She was barreled backwards over the couch and straight across a tastefully decorated table before she hit the wall. She was face down in a tapestry that had fallen with her, ears ringing but still whole. _Damn. Haven't taken anything like that in a LONG time._ She'd definitely underestimated Regina's power.

Ridiculously tasteful high heels clicked into view beside her head. Lake rose up on one elbow enough to look up at her attacker. Regina was frowning down at her, another spell already charged and crackling in her fist. She looked like she was about to squash a cockroach. It was such a quintessentially 'Regina' expression that Vivien couldn't stop herself from smiling. The woman was almost a caricature of herself.

"So go ahead. Prove just how wrong I am." Lake smirked, then laid her head back down and closed her eyes. She waited for another blow. It would take several to actually kill her. One of the perks of being enslaved to magic, it liked to preserve its allies. The seconds ticked by and eventually she couldn't hold her breath anymore. Slitting one eye open she peered up at the woman who had the power to kill her. Regina was gazing at her in irritation mixed with epiphany. The magic threat was gone.

"If you hate magic so much," Regina's voice trembled with the effort of her restraint, "Why didn't you simply leave? Go to the rest of this world. There is no magic there. You can flee and never see it again."

Vivien nodded, but felt a bit of broken glass cut her face so she stopped moving immediately. The same thoughts had gone through her mind as she'd watched the exodus. She didn't totally understand her own reaction until now. Laying at Regina's feet, her body still throbbing from the buffet of magic, the pain had finally forced her to be honest with herself.

"I love being Vivien Lake the PT. Its the closest I've been to happy in as long as I can remember," she had to close her eyes for a moment because she'd be damned before she'd cry in front of Regina, "But I don't want that life anywhere else. I want to take care of the patients I've treated for 20+ years. I want to work in that tiny hospital and curse Whale and occasionally go to Granny's for a greasy dinner and pretend to not recognize everyone by their injuries. I want to help Lille with her feet, Granny's sciatica; hell, I even want to help Gold with that damn limp, no matter who he is. Do you get it, Regina? I don't want to be Vivien Lake anywhere else. Its who I want to be _here_."

Regin knelt down in order to keep a closer eye contact, scrutinizing every inch of Vivien's face.

"You were brought here by curse." she reminded the injured woman with much the same tone as people use to point out that someone is drooling on themselves.

"And so were you. Were you unhappy?" Vivien realized she was smiling again. Smiling because she knew she was safe. Smiling because she knew Regina had just proven herself to be better than the evil everyone ascribed to her name. The sound of footsteps on the floor above them distracted both women's attention. Henry was moving around.

"Can you move?" Regina's worry was obviously more for her son than her victim. He'd been traumatized enough, no reason to find an injured woman in his mother's study.

"Yeah." Vivien pushed herself to her hands and knees, noting every stab and shot of pain that radiated through her body. She definitely was going to have to strengthen her shielding spells. Unexpected hands appeared at her arm and shoulder, gently helping her to her feet. For a sorceress of such malevolent power, Regina had a surprisingly delicate touch. The evil Queen helped her to her feet and carefully checked for lingering injuries.

"Miss Lake, Vivien, I am," Regina's eyes fell to the floor for the first time that the therapist could ever remember, "Sorry. I overreacted. It has been a stressful few days."

"For everyone. Just think about what I said." Vivien nodded, a silent pact passing between them that the previous violence would never be brought up again. Vivien had learned that Regina had enough power to kill her; Regina had learned that Vivien could take it. From the ashes of a petulant argument rose a new mutual respect.

"You had better go." Regina demurred, hearing Henry's feet on the stairs. He was either coming down to rant at length about the villainous tyrannies and moral failings of his adoptive mother or just to ask for dinner. Either way, an audience wouldn't help. Vivien quickly followed Regina to the door and only paused as she was on the porch.

"One evil bitch to another: if you need me, you know where I am." Lake smiled and gave her a wink. It made her aching ribs feel better to see the way Regina returned the carefree smile. She even laughed a little.

"Indeed, Miss Lake. That is the _only_ thing I know about you." Regina nodded appreciatively before closing the door. Vivien limped to the sidewalk and began her slow walk back home. Regina might not have conceded defeat but Lake knew for a fact she'd won. She knew because the Mayor didn't kill her. The Evil Queen doubted and feared magic as much as any sane being should. Which meant that Henry was safe for a while longer. And maybe Regina would be too, someday.

Vivien paused at the edge of the main street, surprised and elated to see the returning caravan of cars. Apparently everyone else had come to the same epiphany as she herself. No life, cursed or otherwise, could be better than the one they made here in StoryBrooke. What to preserve, what to forget, what to correct; it was all up to them. It was up to each and everyone to decide which version of themselves was most true. Vivien felt her first taste of peace in days.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Vivien stared at her treatment table. The charred sheets were sending up the smell of burnt linen and the fire extinguishing foam was dribbling to the floor in slow motion. Her work had taken on an entirely new dimension of adventure since returning to the hospital. The fairies could never relax and always floated slightly above the table. Maria Llorona had sobbed through her whole treatment, awash with grief over her children as if the loss had just occurred. Puck had stolen her watch and two bottles of painkillers. Granny had snapped at her; literally. Jack Springheel had tried to get fresh and she'd bound him with magic before giving him a long and stern lecture after which he'd apologized.

This, however, took the cake. Vivien sprayed the fire extinguisher at the table again where the sheets looked like they weren't soaked enough.

"I'm really sorry, Viv." Her patient moaned in apology, his head hanging so low it might fall off.

"It's my fault. I shouldn't have pushed past your comfort zone so fast." Vivien shook her head numbly. The man she'd known for years as simply 'Chubby' had chronic knee trouble from a torn ACL. She'd been mobilizing the joint as usual and hadn't expected anything unusual from the sweet, shy man. Except it turned out 'Chubby' was short for Golachaub and he had the surprisingly nasty habit of setting himself on fire when threatened. Pain could be very threatening.

"I used to be able to control it." The poor man wailed, angry fists pounding at his sides. Vivien watched for any sign that either hand was about to combust. She was going to have to invest in a whole new line of equipment. Who knew how many of her patients had similar pyrotechnic leanings?

"You will again. Everyone's skills are rusty right now. Just go home and ice the knee. Pretty sure you had enough heat today." Vivien didn't think she'd ever forget the image of her prone patient completely on fire. Chubby muttered some further apologies then quickly slunk away.

She began stripping the table, only to give up when she realized the sheets had melted together with the vinyl into a noxious smelling mass. _Great._ Vivien massaged her forehead, trying to will away the headache that was gnawing at her eyeballs. She hadn't slept properly in days. The nightmares kept coming back. Add to that sleep deprivation the strain of identifying and navigating a world of foreign magical beings and it was a bloody miracle she hadn't just combusted herself.

She'd been doing her best to keep her head down. Between the hospital and her research at home she had more than enough to keep busy but she was also hitting brick walls everywhere. _Damned Maine. Why did it have to be Maine?_ This far out there was limited cell phone service and the internet was something that only existed as a theoretical concept, like wormholes. She'd scanned the whole book of fairy and folk tales and hadn't seen anything about herself or her family or the people she'd known. Now she was reading in depth, wondering if she'd missed something.

Frustration made her skin feel too tight. She was trapped. She was going to have to ask for help but couldn't begin to think who she should trust. Regina perhaps, but not only did the Mayor have no clue who Vivien was, she had her hands and head full with her own problems. David; Prince Charming? Vivien had an aversion to heroes. August was gone, which was typical for him. Graham as well, which sucked because he was the only man that _hadn't_ made a pass at her from the treatment table. Even Sheriff Swan wasn't around. Lake had felt dark baggage lurking in the edges of the Savior's psyche. Emma carried herself with the courage of a woman who'd battled her way through a hundred wounds and sins and was still standing. She'd been given the ultimate second chance and was in no position to withhold anyone else's. Given a little time Vivien could've even trusted her for help. _No such luck._

Vivien pounded her fists into the destroyed table.

_Temper, temper, little one. We mustn't play too rough with our toys._ The long gone voice mocked in her head. Vivien gritted her teeth and brought her fists down again. Toys. Toys had been people once. Even she was a toy. Until she graduated to being a tool.

_So much power! I really did choose well. Now, show me what you can do._ The words had been a caress in her ear, stoking the anger, goading her on. She'd showed her. Gods, she'd showed everyone what she could do. The lucky ones died before they could scream.

_Slow down, child. Take your time. Enjoy it._

"DAMN YOU!" Vivien released her fists and the table exploded. A massive cloud of splinters and fibers filled the room as tiny bits of metal shrapnel embedded into walls in every direction. Several nurses came running at the noise and stopped in the doorway. The atomized debris floated down like a heavy mist, coating Lake's skin and clothes.

"Nurse Lake?" one of the orderlies inquired nervously, not daring to enter the room. It was still crackling with the discharge of magic. Vivien turned, looking at them for a moment but not seeing their faces. She saw their fear; in that fear she saw hundreds of other faces. _No more, please. Not again._ She could feel a young part of herself curling up into fetal position and begging; crying.

"The table was irreparable. I didn't feel like hauling it to the dumpster. Sorry." Vivien gave them a sheepish shrug with an embarrassed smile. Let them think she was impulsive and naughty. Anything was better than dangerous.

"Well, it'll take the cleaning staff some time to clear all this out." The head nurse wiped a finger through the heavy dust settling on every surface. Lake and this woman always had a good relationship. The chief of the nursing staff loved any medical professional that treated her nurses with respect. Only she herself was allowed to bully them about their rounds. She and Vivien had spent many years annoying doctors together. Her name had been Fawn during the curse but these days everyone called her Fauna.

"I'll need a day or so to gather and setup new equipment anyway. Could you please ask my patients to reschedule?" Vivien smiled gratefully to the woman, realizing the older nurse was giving her an excuse to leave. She needed to get out and clear her head.

"Of course. You should stop by Granny's. It's always slow this time of day." Fauna suggested with just enough authority in her tone to make it clear it wasn't a suggestion at all. If Vivien had dared argue she would've been upbraided with a lecture on her sleep habits, lack of nutrition and probably a copy of the time sheet showing her as the first signing in and last out for the past three days. Fauna just had that glint in her eye.

"Good idea. Thank you." Lake meekly agreed and grabbed her satchel.

Viven stopped off in the hospital locker room for a quick shower, rinsing off the heavy wood and vinyl dust that had caked to her skin. She stood under the cold water for several minutes, waiting for the after effects to pass. Dizziness, nausea, feverish chills; who knew that the wrong kind of magic had the same side effects as most prescription medications?

There had been a time when she was so practiced at using dark and violent magic that it didn't even faze her; it had become second nature. But she was out of practice. _Just like Chubby._ The foreign power that she'd once wielded like an expert now fought with her body and she wanted to throw up, to vomit it out of her system. She never could. It was bound with her being and flowed through her as vital and irreplaceable as blood.

_Always a price._

Vivien chuckled ruefully. Who had first given her that warning? Her mistress, before the agreement? Unlikely. No, it had to have been one of her sisters. Probably the eldest. She had always been warning Vivien about her ambitions. Trying to hold her back, or so she used to think. What was it about a teenager's mind that sees a jealous oppressor in every protective adult? _If I'd just listened._

Shutting off the taps Vivien quickly toweled off. Expertly avoiding her reflection in the mirror she dressed, violently rubbed her hair dry and stuffed her scrubs into her pack. She was still a mess but a hygienic one at least.

On her walk to the diner she spotted a school bus letting out and recognized Goldilocks' fair hair trying to make an escape before her mother caught her. She could hear the scolding from here. Another familiar head bobbed into view and Vivien waved greeting.

"Hi, Viv!" Henry waved back and jogged to catch up to her, obviously heading the same direction. Lake smiled at him. She'd always liked the kid. She liked that he was polite and intelligent and poetic. She liked that he never felt uncomfortable with adults and wasn't afraid to speak up for himself or others. He believed, with absolute and unshakable faith, in the best of human nature. _How much of that is because he was spared from ever seeing its worst?_

"Hey, Henry. Going to Granny's too?"

"Yeah, I'm meeting David. He's my grandpa, you know." Henry elaborated in case she'd missed the revelations. He was trying to walk fast to keep up with her pace. Vivien had noticed that about him too: always in a hurry just to keep up with the grown-ups.

"I did hear something like that. So you must be off house arrest?" she deliberately slowed her gait.

"Yeah. It's weird. Mom said I should stay with David." His brow furrowed as he squinted up at her. This latest change in behavior was probably even more unnerving than Regina's sudden magic.

"Well, that's what you wanted, right? It must've been hard for her."

"I guess," Henry shrugged his ambivalent reply to both comments, "I think she's going to stop using magic."

Viven tripped over her feet but caught herself from falling. She scowled at the inoffensive sidewalk as though some invisible imperfection were to blame.

"Did she say why?" Lake had to concentrate to keep her voice steady. Anyone who's ever gone to a 12 step program knows that the most crucial moment is the one at the beginning; the one when you realize you have a problem you have to change. They call it Hitting Bottom.

"She knows it wouldn't make me stay. She said she wants to redeem herself." Henry sounded like he wasn't sure if he should allow himself to believe it. This was the boy who'd believed in fairytales when no one else did. Maybe he could also believe in Regina when no one else wanted to?

"Do you think she can?" Vivien held her breath. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she knew she wasn't just asking for Regina. Henry was the speaker of truth, the child who saw what no one else could see. If he believed that the 'Evil Queen' had a chance at redemption then maybe there was hope for her too. _Right, cause a war, some vendettas and a curse are totally on par with everything __**you**__did._

Henry stopped walking, partially because they'd arrived at the diner but mostly because he needed to devote himself to deciding on an answer. Vivien rested her fingers on the door handle and watched the boy's face screw up in thought.

"I think," he looked up at her with the eyes of both his mothers; the eyes that saw right through to your core, "Anyone can change. For good or for bad."

"Well, let's hope there's no more bad. For anybody." Vivien released her breath as a sigh. Not exactly the unqualified reassurance she had been hoping for. It would have to suffice.

Inside Granny's Henry ran to where David was waiting for him in a booth. Vivien slid onto a stool at the bar and watched grandfather and grandson in the shiny reflection of the coffee maker.

"Hey, stranger," Ruby greeted her with a wide smile, "I've never seen you here this time of day."

"There was a little equipment mishap at work. I had to clear my schedule until it's sorted." Vivien had always been good at avoiding honesty, even before her patients' privacy was at stake.

"Damn! What happened? Your hands look like you were fishing in a fire!" Ruby grabbed Vivien's left hand. Lake stared in surprise at the swollen skin and angry red blisters

"Magical patients. This is probably going to be a professional hazard from now on." Lake sighed. She hadn't even noticed. Now that she looked at both hands she realized she'd been gripping Chubby's leg pretty tightly when he caught fire. She cursed herself for not noticing earlier. Slips like that were going to make people suspicious. It wasn't exactly her fault.

_I said you will not release the coals! Magic hurts! Stop crying and pick it up! _

She'd evolved a heightened pain threshold for her own survival. Which only meant she had to work even harder to pay attention to her body.

"Let me get the first aid kit!" Ruby started to rummage under the counter.

"Don't bother." Vivien shook her head. At least this she could handle. This was her magic. She took a deep breath and blew on both hands, watching the wounds heal and vanish. She smiled as she flexed her fingers. Her powers never came with ill side effects, just warmth no one else felt and a wistful longing to be home. Her sisters could cure anything. Possibly even her, if she ever made it back.

"Whoa. If you can do that, why are you always making me do exercises?!" Ruby stared at the new, unmarked skin.

"Because you appreciate your wellbeing more when you work for it. If every injury was just magically healed there would be no incentive to avoid getting hurt. And you haven't been doing your exercises, I can tell by the way your left shoulder is higher than your right." Vivien cocked one eyebrow sharply, full practitioner mode switched on.

"Ok. Ok, I'll do them tonight," Ruby held up both hands in placation, "Speaking of tonight, are you going to the Hole? Marshall was asking about you."

"He just wants some distraction from Glinda flirting with their enemy." Vivien ignored Ruby's suggestive wink.

"C'mon, he's a good guy. You could definitely do worse."

"Than a tin man with no heart?" Lake countered. Granted, the story said that Tinman _did_ have a heart after all but who was to say he held onto it? They seemed to be lost or stolen more often than credit cards.

"I seem to recall you being pretty casual with relationships before the curse broke. Oh! Is that it? Have you remembered someone else?" Ruby leaned forward, all ears for anything like gossip. Vivien hesitated. She hadn't been thinking of such reasoning at all.

"I'm just busier now." She looked away from the waitress' penetrating gaze. Yes, she _had_ been pretty nonchalant about her liaisons under the curse. But she'd also not had anything more important to worry about. Right now, not sleeping, staying up all night trying to find the clues to her story, was _not_ the time to be inviting random strangers for sleepover.

"Bull! I can smell the way your chemistry shifted at the thought of someone else. Who was it? Is he here? Or is it she?" Ruby's grin was downright salacious. There was a time Vivien might've been embarrassed by such an innuendo. Why? It hardly made _that_ much difference. If Glinda wanted to have a fling with a witch, bless her sparkly pink heart. She was pretty sure that Archie was gay as well. She doubted anyone really cared either way.

"So far I'm the only one from my world here." Vivien shook her head, sidestepping the issue entirely. Let Ruby think whatever she wanted. She'd honestly rather have the wolf waitress convinced that the local PT was 'that way' than have to explain what had really happened.

"Well if you're open to your options . . ." Ruby gave her a wink, tongue running along her upper teeth, then laughed, "You should see your face! Breathe, Viv, I was kidding! I _knew_ you were straight!"

"Not fair, Ruby." Vivien blushed and gratefully accepted a glass of ice water from Granny.

"She'll do anything to be right." Granny threw the junior Lucas a scolding glance. Vivien made a mental note to never underestimate the waitress again. And to go reread Red Riding Hood with some new perspective.

"C'mon, Viv. Come to the Hole tonight and give Marshall a chance." Ruby pleaded, pouting as best she could while fighting her victorious smile. Vivien was saved from having to answer by the noise from her cell phone. She glanced at the ID and quickly snapped it up before anyone else could see.

"This is Vivien." She turned partially away from Ruby and her grandmother, hoping that the young brunette didn't have a wolf's heightened sense of hearing as well as smell.

"Your office is a disaster. Did you kill someone?" the cold, authoritative tone that normally would've had a touch of humor on the edges was ringed only with tension. Regina did not sound good. Vivien frowned and got to her feet.

"Small accident, no casualties. What are you doing in my office?" she grabbed her satchel and nodded thanks to the Lucas' women.

"Currently? Being fussed at by a fairy godmother with a napoleon complex."

"I mean why did you go there?" Vivien laughed, picturing just how furious Fauna would be with the imperious Mayor simply storming into a closed office like she owned the place. That was sure to be an epic war of wills.

"I rather assumed that it was the place to find you during the day. Obviously I was mistaken. Should I be searching the strip clubs?"

"I'll be there in ten minutes. Tell Fauna. And please don't hurt anyone."

"Very well. Not for ten minutes anyway." Regina consented and the call ended. Vivien turned at the door and glanced at Henry and David, still chatting and laughing in a booth. If Regina was in the PT's office it was because she needed help. Did Henry have any clue what his happiness was costing her?


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Vivien half expected to find Regina lounging in her office chair like she owned the space. She'd met Fauna at the door and the head nurse was obviously feeling grievously offended by the Mayor's refusal to be cowed to her authority. Apparently the orderlies had been trying to clean Vivien's office and Regina had grown irritated and announced that if they didn't stop scurrying around scratching at things she would turn them all into mice.

The office was therefore currently half cleaned and occupied with only the Mayor's imperious form. Regina was pacing. Vivien had heard the clicking of her pristine heels all the way down the corridor. She could tell by the pace that the woman was simmering, nerves or emotions building to a boil. It was the same rhythm of family waiting for surgeries to end, defendants anticipating a verdict, prisoners hoping for pardon. Regina's stride was the impatience of being stuck on the edge between life and death.

Vivien didn't even have time to offer a greeting. The moment she stepped through the doorway Regina spun and dominated her personal space as only someone used to getting their way can.

"Can you write prescriptions?" the Mayor bypassed any of their more traditional greeting rituals. _Not even any sarcasm? Damn, this is serious._ Vivien frowned. She hadn't seen Regina for several days, not since their conversation at the mansion. She knew the Mayor didn't respond well to nagging and so had given her space. It hadn't served her well. Regina looked pale beneath her makeup and Vivien could see the circles beneath her eyes that spoke of lost sleep.

"I have an advanced RN certification and prescription pads." Vivien answered carefully. _Hell,_ _I got the extra certification just so I could write my own!_ She'd become far too expert at forgeries and even now the sight of a blank prescription sheet excited her with ideas of cocktail chemistry. A huge fan of drugs herself, she was just hypocrite enough to prefer her patients not take any.

"Good. I need something and that damn Cricket wouldn't help." From this close Lake could tell Regina's breath was twitchy, halted. Her pulse was throbbing in the artery by her throat at a rapid staccato. Vivien felt an uncomfortable pang of sympathy.

"Anything in particular?" the therapist was mentally running through all the drugs she imagined Regina could use. _Sedatives for sleep. An SSRI for her temper. Benzo's for the anxiety, no, make that a tranquilizer. _

"Something that will stop me from peeling off my skin." The words were coarse and harsh with the pain of admission. She wasn't in control and she did not like it. Vivien bit her lip and nodded. She remembered all too clearly the days of feeling trapped in her own body, the way the air felt heavy and itchy and she was desperately tired yet couldn't hold still.

"This isn't exactly standard withdrawal so I don't think you need opiate blockers," Vivien went to her desk and began rummaging in the drawers, "A tricyclic antidepressant would help with the emotional reactions and stabilize your moods."

"I'm not depressed, I'm angry! I can't blow people through walls or rip out hearts so I may have to start punching them instead!" Regina's fists were already clenched, awaiting a victim.

"Just don't use your right arm; the shoulder needs to stay relaxed." Vivien glanced up at her with a smirk. Even in her agitated state the brunette noticed the joke and managed a weak smile.

"I can't keep feeling like this. I have to be better for Henry!" She had resumed pacing, her hands worrying each other as though she could wring the feelings out through her fingers. Vivien found what she'd been searching for in the back of her bottom file drawer.

"You will be. You can do this, Regina. Look, I can give you clonidine; it'll settle you down and take the edge off your nerves. But honestly, what helped me the most when I was getting off pills was this stuff." She tossed the bottle and the Mayor didn't even flinch, snatching it out of air like prey.

"Oil?" she eyed the contents skeptically.

"It's a lot of stuff, mostly natural. My worst problem was that I couldn't sleep. I was wound so tight I could barely breathe. Just add a good amount of that to a bath before bed or apply it directly to your skin. It'll help you relax, make your skin feel like it fits again." Vivien hoped that 'mostly' natural was enough. She actually wasn't altogether sure of a lot of the ingredients. She'd wrought havoc in her medicine chest one night when she'd wanted to rip her eyes out and had just blended everything that felt and smelled right. The resulting concoction would probably have the FDA and the natural healing people both in fits but it bloody well worked.

Regina unscrewed the cap of the bottle and sniffed, probably expecting the scent of lavender and cannabis. Her eyes closed for a moment as she concentrated on picking apart the complicated scent. The effect was almost instantaneous: her face relaxing, the furrow between her brows vanishing, every muscle in her body releasing from its spastic coil. When she opened her eyes again there was a glitter of surprised revelation.

"Now I know something new about you, Miss Lake. You're a healer." Regina's lips had curled slightly in relief and now widened to a cocky smile.

"Physical therapist." Vivien pointed out, gesturing to the office.

"I don't mean here. I mean who you were before. This balm, I don't know the names of the ingredients here but I recognize it. A very skilled and practiced healer used to be paid a great deal of money to make this ointment for my mother." There was no denying that the Mayor was enjoying having found a clue to Vivien's past.

"I guess the tension is hereditary then?" Lake's natural humor defenses came to her aid. Deflect, distract and when all else fails, deny. It hadn't occurred to her that her old skills might've been bleeding through to her that night. She certainly hadn't been herself – either of her selves.

"But the woman who made this concoction before was very old and supposedly the only one in the world to know the recipe. Now, either she left it behind with someone younger to carry on her practice or . . ." Regina left the sentence hanging. They both knew the answer but Vivien had to be the one to say it. She had to admit the fact or else be caught trying to lie.

"I'm not from your world." She conceded with a casual shrug. If she didn't make a big deal out of it, perhaps no one else would.

"And you have no intention of telling me your origins." Regina leaned against the desk with her arms crossed. The balm had already done wonders for soothing her nerves, putting her back in charge of herself and the situation.

"Not yet. I can't."

"I imagined as much." The Mayor tilted her head a fraction, acknowledging Vivien's honesty and acquiescing to her right for privacy. For now.

"I'm sorry, I wish I could tell you. I just to have to find out a few things first." Lake could feel the other woman's respectful restraint pulling words out of her more effectively than any question ever could.

"Anything I can help with?" what would've been a casual offer from anyone else was laden with significance between them. Regina wasn't offering the same superficial, easy assistance she might give any citizen as mayor. Despite her casual tone she was proffering the whole of her abilities, anything that might be necessary. The meaning was underlined in the way they could only hold eye contact for a few seconds, mutually looking away.

"Yeah, tell my why the hell this town doesn't have a bookstore?" Vivien rose from her chair for no reason. _That was stupid. _She wanted to pace but couldn't; it would give away her mental agitation.

"Having people read about the outside world would be a dangerous pastime. They might go and get ideas of traveling. Hardly safe considering what happened to anyone that crossed the town line under curse."

"Some of us would've liked to buy a cookbook now and then." Vivien joked but didn't really feel the humor.

"Rumple asked for the key to the library the other day. I imagine it will be opening for public use shortly." Regina volunteered, triumphant with her ace.

"You gave it to him? In exchange for what?!" Vivien felt a fusion of fear and bile turning her stomach. Gold had a price for everything. His deals always cost more than anyone expected.

"Nothing," Regina looked far away for a moment, "It wasn't for him. I owed Belle that much."

A dozen questions leaped to Lake's mouth but the expression on the Mayor's face held them back. The woman was still coming to terms with her demons; she didn't need anyone else reaching in and poking with a stick. The silence was broken by an offended huff from the doorway.

"You're still here?" Fauna demanded, "Don't you have other lives to go ruin?"

The head nurse stomped over to Regina and squared herself for a fight. It wasn't the most intimidating aspect seeing as she barely came to the other woman's chin.

"Don't you have other useless bimbos to enable?" The Mayor retaliated with her sweetest smile.

"Hey, play nice!" Vivien put a hand on Fauna's shoulder to pull her away. She really didn't know what would happen when a fairy godmother fought with an evil queen but since Regina wasn't using magic there was a very good chance someone was going to get punched. And Fauna's demeanor was more grandmother than cage fighter. (Unless a doctor yelled at one of her nurses.)

"You know, Maleficent told me you three could be annoying. I always assumed it was just the family feud. Now I see she wasn't exaggerating at all." Regina's smile was always more genuine when tinged with malice. Fauna's face ran through a startling gamut of colors; first shocked white, then embarrassed red and now building into a raging purple.

"You leave her out of this!" the head nurse's voice was a dark rasp.

"I tried. She insisted on tagging along and bringing you three as well. Friends close but enemies closer, hmm?"

_Gods this woman loves pushing buttons. She doesn't even need magic to control people! _Vivien felt a shift in the air as Fauna began gathering a spell. It felt like . . . a power surge? _Not good! It's different here!_ Lake grabbed the nurse's wrist just as she raised it, forcing the spell into the wall. The room shuddered and whatever order had been restored fell to chaos again. All her reference books fell off their shelves, her diplomas crashed to the floor and ceiling plaster rained down on them in crumbles.

"No magic! You could've blown all three of us to pieces." Vivien growled. Everything was too unpredictable here. Never mind that dark magics and power spells were harder to control anyway.

"It – it shouldn't have done that!" Fauna stared at her hand. The wall had a massive scorch ring where the spell had hit.

"I think you should go have a cup of tea and check on everyone's rounds. You know how the orderlies like to slack when you aren't watching." Lake put an arm around Fauna's shoulder and guided her to the door.

"Yes. Yes they do." The nurse could barely rip her eyes away from the damaged wall but managed to wander out of the office in a daze. She was probably going to be nervous using her hands for days now. _Nothing like finding out you have lethal weapons you can't control._

"You have excellent reflexes." Regina was still completely poised and collected. The light dusting of plaster on her suit jacket didn't even register. Vivien looked around her office. _Maybe I should just switch to a different room._

"You didn't have to push her that far." Lake gave her a rebuking glance. She'd never seen Fauna lose her temper like that. For a moment she'd looked truly capable of killing someone. Everyone.

"I hardly expected that sharp a reaction. How was I to know the old wounds were still so fresh?" The Mayor brushed the responsibility away like an annoying fly. What was it that made Fauna just lose it like that? The mention of Maleficent, ok, yeah they were enemies. And some reference to her bringing the three of them. No, before that. Fauna had gone pale when Regina mentioned . . .

"They were family?" Vivien suddenly remembered.

"After a fashion. All Fay are related. Even darling Blue has to confess kinship with our former 'Mistress of All Evil.'" Regina definitely enjoyed that little irony.

"I don't think Blue would have tried to kill you for bringing her up." Then again, Lake hadn't thought Fauna had that kind of rage in her either. Who else might have explosive tempers festering beneath the surface?

"Granted, it is more of a tender point for the godmothers," Regina acknowledged with a cluck of her tongue, "I gather the four were closer to being sisters once. You know Maleficent used to be a godmother as well? That is until she decided to swap her wand for a staff. They've been working against each other ever since. Well, until now, obviously. You'd think they'd be relieved."

Vivien thought of her sisters. Would they know where she was or did they just assume she was dead? Would that thought make them happy?

"I'm pretty sure that spell suggests otherwise." Vivien nodded to the scorch mark. It was a physical, blackened testimony to the fact that some bonds could never be erased. No betrayal or rivalry hurt as much as the pain of loss. Up to the moment of death there can still be hope. Losing that hurts worse than anything.

Regina must've sensed the shift in Vivien's thoughts and mood. She moved to leave without a word but paused at the doorway.

"You know a few barrier runes and a dampening ring would stop anyone from using magic in this room. Your treatments might be less . . .sensational." She made it sound as if all the damage had been caused by some overly-enthusiastic children.

"I hadn't thought of that." Lake could've slapped herself for having forgotten something so basic. Protection spells were Magic 101. Before you could think about hurting others you had to know how to shield yourself. A lot of bad beginners usually blew themselves up. Survival of the fittest, after all.

"You would've. And Vivien?" Regina only paused like that when she was about to be honest. It was always harder for her; she had to work up to it.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you." She held up the bottle of balm but the simple words encompassed a lot more.

"Anytime." Vivien smiled. It wasn't the first time she'd ever heard the Mayor say the words, but she was pretty sure it was the first time she'd _meant_ them.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

_Vivien balanced the tray against her hip and knocked lightly on the massive oak door. The muffled curse from within made her snicker. She hadn't expected much else in the way of communication. It was late, the servants had already been around with a dinner tray and no one else was expected (or tolerated) to be wandering the castle at night._

_Slipping into the chamber Vivien slid the tray onto a table she could just make out in the moonlight. _

_"You couldn't even light a candle?" she demanded as she fumbled in the dark and cursed when she banged her leg against some sharp metal. Which, in this room, could be anything._

_"I can barely move." The groan from the bed wasn't exactly apologetic. Vivien rolled her eyes and found the lanterns and flint. She had to light three before the dimness of the room began to lift. Taking one closer to the bed she could now make out the pitiable form. He'd collapsed face down onto the blankets, only half his armor stripped off. The exposed shoulder and arm was swollen from shoulder blade to fingertip and what she could see of his back was discolored with bruises. _

_"Another glorious victory?" Vivien teased and began undoing the rest of the armor. He'd obviously wrestled off everything he could with his good hand and arm but the rest had to be done with both hands and the right one was completely useless. He hissed as she pulled the rest of the chainmail away, the dried blood ripping like skin. She winced in sympathy and grabbed the bowl of water and rags from her tray. This had become a ritual._

_"It kind of loses the glory when you hurt so much you're scared to piss." The grumbling reply had a trace of chuckle at the end. His sense of humor was undefeatable. _

_"You came back alive, that's victory enough." Vivien pointed out as she washed and dressed the wounds. The gashes and bruises were easy enough. It was the damage underneath that always worried her. The broken bones, moved ribs, mysterious lumps and swellings that she could feel but not see. She needed to be able to treat beyond the surface. She rested one hand on the swollen shoulder, wondering if the Mistress was asleep or distracted enough that she wouldn't notice a small spell._

_"Don't even think about it." Her patient didn't even open his eyes. He knew exactly what she was contemplating. _

_"It would be so much quicker!" Vivien protested. One healing spell! She'd known these since she was a child! There was nothing the Mistress could teach her about healing. She'd just wanted to learn everything else._

_"And she'd know you did it. If not immediately, then tomorrow when I can mysteriously wield a sword without wincing. She's evil, not stupid." He opened one eye to watch her nod in surrender._

_"She's your damn aunt, you'd think she'd want you well." Vivien put the bloodied rags back on the tray, wiping off her own hands in disgust as though she were somehow tainted with the same guilt._

_"She wants to win. That's all. By my sword or your spells, I don't think it matters which." He tried to push himself up but some internal pain shot across his face and he collapsed again. Vivien immediately was back at his side, brushing the hair away from his face. It was well past his shoulders and blacker even than their Mistress' soul. At least he managed to keep the blood out of it this time._

_"Where does it hurt?" she gently ran a sensing hand over his back, trying to find the hidden injuries. The swelling and heat was always indication enough that the body was trying to protect or heal something. Except he was swollen –_

_"Everywhere." He confirmed her grim prognosis. She rose to grab a few more things from her medicine tray._

_"Wait! I'm wrong," he suddenly corrected himself, lifting his head a little off the pillow, "Three of the toes on my left foot feel great."_

_He grinned and wiggled his toes, satisfied to hear her laugh in response. She knew he tried to keep things light for her benefit. It was one of their many unspoken agreements. They were both caught in a hopeless, wretched situation but they could at least help each other. Vivien would always do what she could to heal his injuries. He would do whatever he could to keep her smiling. He liked to try to protect her. He was a little older than her, in this life anyway. Every now and then she had to remind him that she'd been around since before his grandparents shared their first licentious eye contact. Hell, if she'd had any kind of prescience she could've watched the day the Mistress was born. And then strangled her on the spot and spared everyone a lot of pain._

_"I made something new today, I think it will help." Vivien shook her head clear of the darker thoughts and lifted a bottle of ointment from the tray._

_"Not one of hers." At first he pulled away. He had always been adamant that he didn't want any of his aunt's potions or spells anywhere near him. _

_"Of course not," Vivien rolled her eyes, "She'd never be able to make anything like this. My sisters taught me the original recipe. I've been making some improvements."_

_She uncorked the bottle and poured the oil onto his back. The smell filled the room as she began working the balm over the skin, gently guiding it to all the swollen and bruised areas. No, the Mistress would never be able to make a healing potion like this because it had no cost. All her spells and magics came with a price. The cures and balms of her sisters were born of their natural abilities, they came free. _

_"That does feel good. Like being in the warm sun and having a cool breeze at the same time." He let out a contented sigh. The swelling was definitely going down and the bruises lightening in color. The breaks, fractures and damages underneath would still take a while to heal but he'd be in less pain._

_"When did you become such a poet?" Vivien mocked as she climbed onto the bed to reach all the way down his damaged arm. _

_"I think it was the last time I had you on top of me." The playful tone wasn't quite enough warning before he spun underneath her, catching her with his good hand before she could fall off the bed. Vivien always knew he was feeling better when he started pulling tricks like this. She upbraided him for moving so fast with injuries but that was just for show. It was always easy to slip into his embrace. So easy that she knew it wasn't safe. Nothing that could make you this happy could last._

_She broke away in the middle of a kiss, her chest suddenly tight with fear._

_"You know if she finds out she'll kill us." Vivien had to point out the danger. It was always the shadow to the lightness of any moment they shared. It wasn't just because Vivien belonged to a Mistress who was demonically possessive of her playthings. It wasn't just because he was her nephew and it would constitute a massive betrayal. It was because the Mistress would despise their happiness. Pleasure untainted by pain was completely foreign to her and she would destroy it out of bitter jealousy._

_"Don't be ridiculous." Her lover laughed and kissed her again, "She'd only kill one of us. She'd want to watch the other suffer." _

_"Oh, perfect. Much better." Vivien growled but couldn't quite bring back the sense of alarm that had spiked so furiously moments ago. He was too good at coaxing her away from such thoughts. Perhaps it was because he faced mortal peril and danger every day. He never seemed as worried about death as she. Maybe that was part of being human? Knowing you would die? More likely it was just him. _

_Vivien had once seen a performer who juggled knives and swords. He smiled and laughed and made deadly steel twirl and dance around himself while never even seeming to notice the risk. He'd made jokes and kept everyone so entertained they almost forgot to be fascinated by his peril. Vivien had wondered at such casual flirtation with death. She had never quite decided whether he was an example of superbly trained control or just supremely good luck. _

_The memory came back to her as she rose to get dressed and her lover caught her arm, sleepily insisting she stay. He was the juggler; smiling, entertaining, trifling with dangers he could barely control. She smiled and kissed him goodnight to silence his complaint about cold sheets and loneliness. She truly hoped he had some sort of divine good fortune. She gathered up her tray and exited back into the silent castle corridor. He needed to be lucky. Because if he was the juggler then she was the knife._

* * *

Vivien listened to the steady pace of her New Balance sneakers slapping against the concrete. If she timed her gait right she could create a perfectly synchronized rhythm between her heartbeat and her running footsteps. If she focused on the sounds from inside and outside her body, focused on the trivialities of nearly nonexistent noise, she could forget the dreams.

The nightmares had been consistent ever since the curse broke. But they'd changed flavor. At first it was all the bad memories; the first time she was beaten, her first night used in bed, her _worst_ night used in bed, the blood (_so much blood!_) hers and everyone else's. The first death, first murder, first person who begged for the relief of dying; they all lined up into a never ending parade of horror that was even worse because it was all true. It had all been real once.

Lately they had changed. She was dreaming of the happy moments. Her subconscious had decided to switch up tortures and was rolling out memories that were so close to being good that they stabbed and hurt worse when she woke. The good times had been so short lived and their taste lingered to form a contrast with the realities that followed. She couldn't think of . . .of _him_ without remembering how it went wrong. She didn't dare let herself remember. If she ever let those thoughts bleed into her mind she knew her head would just crack open.

As it was she woke in the early morning hours either sweating or sobbing and wondered how she could hurt so much and not be bleeding. So many mornings she wiped at the warm wetness around her eyes and expected to see her fingers stained red. But when there was no blood, no gaping physical wound to explain the constant pain, she simply rose and ran. She had a 6 mile route that could keep her mind off everything. She could make it longer or shorter depending on her energy and schedule. No matter how she changed the route she made sure one thing was always the same: the halfway point was Granny's Diner.

She could see it halfway down the block now. She hated carrying a water bottle so it was perfect to be able to stop and slake her thirst before continuing. She'd even managed to time it so that she arrived around the time –

The door to Granny's opened and a hand holding a huge glass of orange juice extended itself.

–They opened for the day. Vivien took her last three steps and closed the distance, accepting the glass of juice from Ruby who was leaning against the open door with a self-satisfied grin.

"Am I getting that predictable?" Lake finally demanded after she'd downed half the glass. She knew her timing had been pretty spot-on the last few mornings but she hadn't imagined anyone else was keeping track.

"Don't be silly. I could smell you coming from a block away." Ruby shook her head. They'd enjoyed shooting the breeze for a few minutes each morning before Granny yelled for her granddaughter's attention, or customers showed up or some other interruption came along and reminded them both that they had jobs to take care of. In StoryBrooke at dawn it was easy to forget the obligations of time.

"Smell?" Vivien took a horrified sniff of her shirt. She knew she was sweating but her deodorant usually held up well through a run!

"Not like that, stupid!" Ruby laughed, "Your smell. Everyone has their own and yours is pretty distinct. Easy to pick up even from a distance."

"What do I smell like?" she wasn't even entirely sure she wanted to know but the curiosity would kill her if she didn't ask.

"Hand sanitizer and freshly mown grass." Ruby shrugged as though it were normal to identify people by their smell as much as their looks. _Oh, Jim? Yeah, green eyes, brown hair and the constant aroma of chamomile tea._

"Alcohol and chlorophyll. Yummy." Vivien frowned. Maybe it was a waste of time buying 'powder fresh' scented deodorant when there was a werewolf in town.

"Trust me, it could be worse. The dwarves all smell like the mines. Iron, clay, copper mud, caliche and so on."

"Very alluvial." Lake couldn't really think of anything else to say. She'd been having more surreal conversations these days. Just last night she'd met a woman named Bianca at the Rabbit Hole who kept her martini glass perpetually frosted by the touch of her hand. Being a Snow Queen had its perks.

"That's what makes smells interesting. They're a blend of what you are, what you do, what you absorb, what you make part of yourself." Ruby's expression gazed into the distance. Vivien had never really thought of people in such terms, or imagined wolves to be so philosophical. But nature, beauty and art tended to all get tightly wound together into a subjective tangle, she wasn't going to criticize anyone's method of deciphering such complexity.

"So what does Charming smell like?" She emptied the glass of juice and set it down, sliding into a runners stretch to take advantage of the time.

"He's a funny one. He hasn't been on a farm in years but he still smells like wool and milk."

"Marshall?"

"Lubricating oil. He doesn't even smell like metal."

"Jefferson?"

"Mercury. I think he's absorbed a lot of it over the years with the hat making."

"I didn't know mercury had a smell." Vivien switched to the other leg.

"Everything has a smell." Ruby sounded like she was correcting a child who'd read the wrong word in their primer. Vivien just chuckled. Her pocket vibrated and she pulled out her phone. The text message wasn't entirely unexpected. She'd been checking on Regina every day, most often nothing more than a Hello to remind her that someone was paying attention. The Mayor had seen through the tactic completely and was now pre-empting Vivien's attempts at concern by giving her a terse status update each morning.

_"Awake. Angry. Therefore, alive."_ The impassive digital words still managed to completely convey the Queen's attitude. Vivien stifled a small laugh. It could be rearranged many ways: Angry and alive, therefore awake; Alive and awake, therefore angry. In fact, it was probably a confluence of all those things at once.

"She smells like apples. Unless she's mad, then it's just fire." Ruby commented almost absently. Vivien looked up at her in confusion. The waitress hadn't even glanced at the phone. She obviously saw the question in Lake's face.

"Your smell changes. I've noticed it before. When you're talking to Regina or thinking about the past or doing magic. Your smell always changes, like you're a different person at those times." Ruby shrugged again, her universal gesture to convey that she didn't think anything was weird about it so why should anyone else?

A different person? _Who you were before, obviously._ Most of the time she lived, thought and apparently _smelled_ like Vivien Lake, PT of StoryBrooke. There were many moments, though, when she was someone else from longer ago. It was paralyzing to think there was an audience that witnessed such changes.

"What does it smell like?" Vivien knew her voice was a little strangled. _Probably blood, Dearest. Heaven knows you absorbed enough of that._ The voice in her mind was too controlled to be cackling but there was a definite edge of gleeful malice about the words. The wicked old witch stirring a cauldron full of boiling babies had nothing on the sound of happy evil that the Mistress could convey when she was in control of someone else's misery. Blood. What else could it be? Did tears have a smell? Maybe she'd smell like the streaks of salt that were left behind on people's cheeks. Hell, she could probably smell like the piss of a thousand people who'd been in so much fear or pain that they'd lost control of themselves.

"Water. Like a fresh spring, or a really heavy running river. It's almost an anti-scent because when it comes it washes out any other smell in the area. Everything just smells clean." Ruby struggled to find words to explain. This was one smell that apparently had very few parallels in the physical world.

Vivien almost burst out laughing in tears. That was her smell when she went back? Even with all the sins and pains and sacrifices that should've destroyed any vestige of her first life, she still had the smell of innocence? It was almost too impossible to consider. But Ruby couldn't be lying. The waitress couldn't even know what she was describing so how could she make it up?

"Ruby, you're amazing." Vivien finally managed to pull herself together and hugged the brunette.

"Woman by day, wolf by night; not always optional – there had to be _some_ compensations, right?" the waitress smiled, not quite sure of what made her gift as incredible as all that but happy to get a compliment. Not to mention a hug.

"Red! Get in here! I told you to roll out the biscuits ten minutes ago!" Granny's voice had all the qualities of an alarm clock: perfectly timed and too jarring to be ignored.

"Thanks for the juice. Put it on my tab and I'll come in tonight to settle up." Vivien smiled and handed Ruby the empty glass. Red returned the smile, along with a slightly annoyed eye roll as Granny went into full rant mode. As Vivien began jogging away, picking up speed, she could hear the percolating argument escalate to a full fight that faded in the distance.

Texting while running could be a bit harder but Vivien knew Regina would be expecting a reply. The one day she'd waited until evening to check on the Queen had earned her a very testy comment assuming she'd been dead. Regina had very subtle ways of letting people know she liked them. It was almost reverse psychology.

_"Glad to hear good news on 2 out of 3. Once it hits 5pm we add another A for alcohol and the rest becomes far more tolerable."_ She tapped in her response and sent it off. It was just hitting 6 am. What was Regina doing awake so early? Vivien frowned because the answer was pretty obvious. She was escaping nightmares of her own. Her phone vibrated a reply before she even had it back in her pocket.

_"Before you drown yourself and your sorrows in an irreversible alcoholic deluge: stop by the library."_

_"Thanks, Regina."_ Vivien always addressed her by name whenever she could. It made everything feel a bit more sincere. 'Thank you' was easy enough to offer up to anyone but Lake doubted there were very many people who could screw up the nerve to genuinely say 'Thank _you,_ Regina.'

_"No cocktails amongst the books." _Regina Mills didn't need emoticons. She could wink through words.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Vivien had argued violently with herself about when to go to the library. Her strongest instinct was to head straight there from her run. It wouldn't be open at 6 am but she could wait. The small voice of reason in her head quietly wondered how suspicious it would look to be standing outside the library for hours on its first day open. It would reek of desperation like wearing full make up at the gym.

She barely forced herself to go home, shower and head into work; her feet constantly fighting to go the wrong way. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on perspective) it was a busy day at the office. She had 4 booked clients, a consultation and two walk-ins. It wasn't until 1pm that she could lock her office door and slip away. At that point she gave into her more adolescent impulses and went from a speed walk to a dead run to cover the blocks between the hospital and library.

She stopped outside the newly opened building, the windows tall and sparkling as they admitted light into the formerly boarded space. The doors were closed but there was a cheerful "Now Open" sign hanging in the window, as well as a paper explaining the new management and their eagerness to get StoryBrooke's library back in peak condition. There was even a list for people to sign up and come do reading time with the town's children.

_You don't have to go in. You don't have to find out everything that happened. Some questions are best unanswered._ The needling voice of panic made sweat prick her palms when she gripped the door handle. What was worse: knowing something awful or not knowing at all? Vivien scowled at her own moment of trepidation and yanked the door open; hard enough that one of the papers in the window went flying into the street.

"Easy! It's a bit old and gets stuck but you don't have to be that rough!" A woman carrying a stack of books scolded but with a bit of laugh in her voice that took out the sting.

"Sorry, you want me to go get it?" Vivien glanced at the page that was already dancing away in a playful breeze, the kind that would be sure to have her playing tag for seven minutes or more.

"Nah, no worries. I can print another if I need to." The librarian shook her head and put her load of books on a table that was already piled high with books, loose pages and tools.

"You're the new management?" Lake wondered just how much innocuous conversation she needed to go through before she could get to her point without seeming overly eager. _Don't attract attention_. _Be casual. _

"Fancy phrase that means I have the key." The woman smiled again and waved a key ring to demonstrate her point. She had an accent of some sort, as though even her voice were as mellow and easy going as the rest of her. It was soothing but playful at the same time.

"So you must be Belle." Vivien had been able to tease only the smallest details out of Regina about her reasons for allowing the library to be reopened. She definitely knew the Mayor felt she had some wrongs to right. Right now Regina was mostly focused on not doing anything bad so it was interesting to see the occasional good act she was motivated to commit.

"Indeed I am! And you are?" Belle wiped the dust of the books from her hands and approached, striking out for a shake. Vivien had been trying to place the woman's face. It was familiar but from somewhere under the curse that even her mind didn't like to go.

"Vivien Lake." They shook hands, a flicker in Belle's expression suggesting that she also had some vague recollection of the PT that she couldn't place. The handshake went on a few seconds longer than it should have as they both tried to pinpoint each other.

"Right, so what brings you into StoryBrooke Library?" Belle finally gave up trying to identify Lake and moved on.

"I was hoping to find out a bit more about everyone. You know, maybe get a bit of backstory on some of these people I don't know?" Vivien had practiced the line in her head a dozen times, she still wasn't certain it sounded as convincing as she wanted.

"Good idea. Want to make sure you aren't accidentally hanging out with a witch, right?" Belle nodded and turned to lead her through the shelves.

"Actually I've met quite a few witches over at the Rabbit Hole and they seem nice enough." Vivien pointed out. _Are all witches color coded? _So far she'd met pink, green and white.

They went halfway through the shelves, up a spiral staircase into the second floor.

"Then who'd you have in mind?" Belle glanced over her shoulder. Vivien felt a surge of panic. She hadn't thought her cover story through far enough for that question.

"I wouldn't mind starting with my neighbors. Those two are far too nauseatingly attached to each other to not be a fairytale romance." Lake realized as she was speaking that it was true – they really were disgustingly romantic and it had been on the back of her mind.

"Right, well if they're in a story they're in this section. Know their names by any chance?" Belle led her to a massive cubicle of shelves, so large there was room for a 4-seater table in the middle. It was as if the curse knew that at some point people would come looking for information.

"Just his, Tom. Uh, Tom Lane I think." Vivien was struggling to take in the rows upon rows of books. There had to be more than a thousand in this section alone. How many fairytales could there be? Where would she find her own? _Stupid question. You know the name._ Her eyes flitted over the alphabetical rows, catching the letter she was looking for.

"Tom Lane, Tom Lane," Belle's eyes searched her internal bibliography, "Tom Lane – oh! Tam lin! Of course. I know him. And you're right, they have a really sweet story."

"Is it here?" Vivien couldn't resist the tug of curiosity. It was like derailing a freight train. Her other thoughts kept plummeting on at full speed but she herself had stepped off.

"Not that I've seen. But he was pretty well known in my kingdom. He was put under a curse to wander the forest and constantly change shape. The only way his wife could save him was to catch hold of him while he was a man and not let go as he ran through the woods changing form. Deer, wolf, lion, bear – you get the picture. I think she held on all night. Then when he finally changed back into a man it meant the curse was broken."

Vivien waited for the 'true love's kiss' punch line that always seemed to come at the end of these stories, but Belle was obviously done.

"I like that one. I don't buy into a lot of these fairytale stories about good and evil or true love but that one I like. It's about loyalty." Lake admitted, thinking over the simplicity of the story and its message. Even in flowery language or rhyming poetry it would still be a very basic concept; one anyone could apply.

"Is that what you gather?" Belle cocked her head on one side.

"Sure. We have to be loyal to the people we care about. Even when they're going through hard times; they may change, even frighten us. But if we stick with them we'll have the reward of seeing them come back to themselves, or even emerge as something better. I like that." Vivien nodded, just now noticing the pensive look in Belle's face.

"You know I hadn't ever really thought of it like that. You're right. You know, I needed to hear that. There's someone I care a lot about and he's been going through a tough time. I know he's trying to change and I think I should stand by him to help." Belle bit her lip a little, looking at her hands. When her head tilted forward some of her hair fell into her face.

Suddenly - in the darker light and in that pose – Vivien knew exactly where she'd seen Belle before. The psych lock down. She didn't get pulled down there very often. People on tranquilizers seldom hurt themselves in padded cells. Vivien could remember walking into the tiny room, could still remember the sick feeling she had when she felt the various strained neck muscles and skewed vertebrae. More than anything, she could remember the feeling of the skin that had been rubbed raw by a ligature around her throat.

"I think you could probably do a lot of good." Lake imagined her voice was as choked as Belle's had been when the orderlies cut her down. If that had been the girl's cursed life, no wonder Regina felt the need to make amends.

"Anyway, I won't be closing until six. Help yourself to whatever you like." Belle's face turned upwards again and her eyes were bright and happy, her smile unguarded. She still didn't remember who Vivien was or how they'd met. The physical therapist truly hoped she never would.

After the librarian had left, her feet clanging a receding gait down the stairs, Vivien allowed herself to move towards the books. Each and every book on every massive bookshelf represented dozens of lives, possibly hundreds. Vivien ran her hands over the rough bindings. Not just the title characters, the heroes, heroines, villains and accomplices. Every story had the innocents, the unnamed masses who plodded along with their lives in complete ignorance to the fact that some epic was unfolding around them. They were the ones swept away by natural disasters, paralyzed by royal edicts, exploited by curses or joyful in the happy endings. They were unknown and unimportant but how many of them were here?

Her questing fingers inevitably grazed the edges of a name she knew. Why had she been foolish enough to think there would only be one? Folk tales and fairytales all came in multiple versions and forms, none of them completely right. Why had she expected her own world to be treated any differently? She ran her fingers over the embossed letters on the aged spines. Seven different books. All of them bore names she knew. Mostly they carried only one name because that was all they needed. Really – what story wasn't identified by a single character? _Someone I've never even met._ She clenched her jaw to hold back a bitter laugh.

She couldn't just pull those books. _If Belle comes up and just sees me with these she'll figure it out._ Vivien grabbed two or three books from every shelf. Wonderland, Oz, Narnia, Middle-Earth, Fantastica, Atlantis, Neverland; every world she could find joined a growing stack on the table. _Literary quantum geography._ Sitting down at the table, a barricade of books erected around her on all sides, Vivien pulled the first book of her world towards herself and began to read.

Regina strode quickly up the sidewalk. The phone call had sounded urgent. Far worse than anything she'd ever expected to hear in the woman's voice. The concern had drawn her eyebrows together into a grim line of worry and clouded her mind with anxiety. She didn't even notice the people who crossed the street to stay out of her path. She didn't notice Geppetto jogging towards her from up the street. He intercepted her a few feet from the doors to the library, breathless and desperate.

"Regina, please! My son, have you-" he beseeched her.

"Not now, tinkerer." Regina snapped and moved to step around him. Spry for a man his age, Geppetto danced backwards and stayed blocking her path. He was about to try again when the noise of groaning wood distracted them both. The barrel planter on the sidewalk was trembling. The soil shivered and suddenly a half dozen shoots erupted. The petals unfolded into brilliant color, despite the time of year and time of day. Then, apparently unsatisfied by such achievements, the flowers rose from the dirt on roots like spider legs and crawled to the ground. Both people watched the tiny, agricultural evolution in spell-bound silence.

When the flowers had vanished – no doubt to go scare the shit out of some bees – Regina turned back to the toymaker. A single arched eyebrow dared him to continue to stand in her way. He quickly stepped aside, instinctively knowing something more urgent was going on. Pinocchio had been missing since the curse broke. Another day wouldn't hurt.

Inside the library Regina spotted Belle and Ruby urgently rushing back and forth with armloads of books, getting them to safer areas. The drinking fountain had turned into a waterfall, running _up._ Books shot from one side of the library to the other, or spun in place, or climbed down from the shelves and walked across the floor. Some of the books were losing words from their pages, all of them floating into air and arranging themselves alphabetically according to the orders of a very bossy dictionary.

"Now _this_ is impressive." Regina smiled appreciatively.

"Don't just stand there! Go stop her!" Belle yelled, rescuing more books from the water fountain spray.

Regina walked up the stairwell – which was barely recognizable – and felt her nerves tingling as she drew closer to the massive magic source. The books upstairs were even more volatile, flying in predatory formations, circling protectively around a single point of calm. Vivien had her head on her arms on the table. She might've even been asleep.

"I told you! One more step and I start snapping spines!" the shouted threat belied her wakefulness.

"A terrifying threat for a librarian, I'm sure." Regina smirked. That brought Lake's head up in a whiplash movement. The books that swished through the air slowed and parted enough to allow the Mayor to step into the eye of the storm. The table was strewn with books. A cursory glance threw up no useful conclusions. She could tell though, from the look in Vivien's haggard eyes that the cause of everything was somewhere here in these pages.

"What are you doing here?" She rose up a little straighter in her chair, like a child embarrassed at having been caught napping in class.

"Belle isn't overly fond of her library being turned into a magical arcade. She called Ruby and Ruby – against her better judgment as she said – called me." Regina casually circled the table, keeping her eyes on Lake but also scanning more of the titles of the books.

"Why?" there was a dazed look on her face. She didn't seem to be entirely in the room, in the moment. Her mind was far away and only making occasional contact with its host.

"Vivien, you're generating a magical field I felt all the way back at my office. There are books on viticulture taking root downstairs and growing vines up the stairwell. I saw an omnibus trying to eat smaller paperbacks. I don't think it would be overreaching to assume that you are upset." Regina sat down in a chair beside Vivien. She was slowly coming back into herself. The protective flocks of books were circling less aggressively now, hovering more slowly above them.

"They got it all wrong." Vivien mumbled, staring back at the books in front of her but not actually seeing those pages.

"They always do. Did you find what you were after?" Regina reached out to rest a sympathetic hand on Lake's arm.

"Yes. No. I don't know!" Vivien's voice suddenly flared with temper, "I found what I wanted but it's all wrong! The names, the people, the deeds! They got them all jumbled together and I'm not me but when I am I'm doing the wrong things and then someone else is me doing the right ones!"

The distraught woman was on her feet, a violent sweep of her arm clearing the table of books. Regina got to her feet just as fast. She could feel the magic building with the rise in pitch of her anger. Magic was all about emotion and there was enough here to blow up three blocks worth of StoryBrooke.

The noise had drawn Ruby and Belle halfway up the stairs, just enough to peek in and watch the chaos.

"They got her wrong! They got him wrong! I still don't know how I got here or if I have to go back!" with every exasperated gesture the books become more frenzied. The windows were rattling now. Nearby trees were erupting in leaves budding, going green, changing to the brilliant colors of fall and then exploding like fireworks. If anybody was in the street they'd be getting quite a show.

"Regina! Do something!" the quiet voice of Belle whispered, pleading. Ruby's eyes echoed the message but with more concern for Vivien than the books.

"Vivien-," The mayor tried to walk closer to Lake, both hands extended to soothe and placate.

"I don't even know if I want to go back anymore. Even if I can! I can't do this. I can't do this anymore! I want out of the deal! I want out!" Vivien was charging magic, nothing Regina recognized but it was in both hands and her every sense told her that it was a suicide spell - something so powerful it would destroy the user and everyone nearby. _Of all the times to have sworn off magic._ Regina scowled. She took a quick step forward and struck.

She'd only ever thrown a punch a handful of times, in moments when her emotions were too turbulent to be controlled. This time it was all control. The precision, power and timing executed with perfect discipline. Her aim was exact and Vivien crumpled to the table, knocked out. The books all fell to the ground with her, not a single page even stirring as the magical discharge swept out of the room like a breeze.

"How hard did you hit her?!" Ruby came running up, kneeling to check Vivien's pulse.

"As hard as necessary," Regina flexed her throbbing fist, "Now, will you please help me take her home? I don't think she's entirely well and shouldn't be left unsupervised."

"Where does she live?" Ruby didn't even argue, just lifted Vivien off the ground in both arms. The Mayor's eyebrow twitched slightly in surprise. Being part wolf obviously came with more advantages than most people recognized. _That certainly makes it easier. _She hadn't been looking forward to the attention they would garner trying to drunk-walk Lake out to the street between the two of them.

"I don't know. We'll take her to my home." The mayor had never before realized that she had no clue about Lake's life outside her profession and their limited interactions.

"I don't know if I like that idea, Regina." Ruby growled, baring fangs.

"You would prefer she be in the center of town when she wakes up in a bad mood?" Regina cocked an eyebrow and gestured to the devastated library. They could hear Belle cursing loudly downstairs as she cleaned up the havoc. The waitress obviously was contemplating just what that same amount of magic might do at the Inn, where there were many more things sharp and deadly.

"Alright. Your place. You're driving." Ruby easily shifted Lake's deadweight to hang over her shoulder and then marched down the stairs.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

For the second time since waking from the curse, Vivien opened her eyes to an unfamiliar room and felt a spike of adrenaline stab through her system. This was _way_ nicer than any room at Grandma's Inn. She rolled her eyes around and took in painfully tasteful décor in understated monochrome. That could only mean one person. She started to sit up and immediately felt nauseous. _Ok. You win. No moving._ There had definitely been some bad magic. She eased her head back against the couch cushion she was stretched upon. It was almost disgustingly comfortable and she didn't mind not being able to lift herself for the moment. She detected the dull presence of a looming headache that was sure to be a migraine before long.

On cue, a breeze of movement made her open her eyes again (forgetting they'd closed on their own) and she found a manicured hand holding out an ice pack. Vivien started to reach for it but Regina deftly maneuvered past her clumsy fingers and pressed the coldness against her jaw.

"Don't try to move for a while. You were unconscious for a solid 10 minutes and asleep for another hour." Regina pulled an ottoman over to the side of the couch so she could sit and hold the icepack in place. Vivien had the distinct suspicion that the mayor was being extra nice because she felt extra guilty. What had happened? She'd been at the library. The books. There had been books everywhere. She'd been crying and angry and . .

"What did you do to me?" Lake tried again to grasp the ice with her own hand but still couldn't get her fingers to follow orders properly. It felt like she was trying to command her body under the ocean. Regina batted her flailing fingers away.

"In the language of your profession? I caused a sudden acceleration and deceleration of your head, causing your brain to suffer impact within the cranium and temporarily paralyzing your nervous system." The brunette lifted the ice to inspect her handiwork on Vivien's face. The PT couldn't help but smile at the elaborate technical description of a knockout punch, even if smiling hurt like hell.

"Very good. Have you been practicing that?" she couldn't tell if her speech was as slurred as it felt. Her tongue felt too big for her mouth.

"The punch or the explanation?" Regina allowed herself a tiny smile which grew when Vivien chuckled. The ice moved back onto her cheek and she was starting to feel the cold burn that comes before numb.

"You look awfully serious." Lake murmured, eyes still wanting to close sleepily.

"I was beginning to think that you were in worse shape than I expected." Regina admitted with a nonchalant tilt to her chin.

"After one punch? You have an awfully high opinion of your strength." Vivien doubted her smirk was visible under the ice. Even with the cold eating into her face she felt warm and relaxed. Someone had thrown a blanket over her. She managed to slit one eye open again and saw a hint of red receding behind the couch. Ruby.

"I'm more concerned with everything that led up to my having to punch you."

"Led up?" Lake wanted to continue the conversation; to remember just what had happened and see if she couldn't piece together how she'd wound up on some piece of Regina's furniture. Unfortunately, the rest of her body wasn't cooperating. She'd been feeling anxious and tired and exhausted for too long. Right now - undoubtedly suffering some kind of concussion - she felt relaxed and safe and her consciousness was bleeding away like rain into dry earth.

"Rest. We'll talk later." Regina counseled, the gentle concern in her voice tempered with just enough authority to make it clear that both statements were absolute commands.

* * *

Regina watched Vivien's eyes gradually fall into the recognizable pattern of twitches and flutters that accompanied hesitant dreams. She pulled the icepack away from the bruised face and rested it on her own knuckles. Her right hand had been throbbing ever since throwing that punch and the last thing she needed was a swollen fist testifying to this latest bout of dramatics. She didn't want to have to explain any of this to Henry.

The thought of Henry made her glance at the clock. Gold wanted to meet her at the shop after dark to discuss Emma and Snow's disappearance. She wasn't sure what his angle was going to be but she definitely needed to find out how he was trying to work it to his own advantage. Because he always was. It was still several hours to evening yet. She had time for more than one mystery.

"Should she be sleeping after that blow? She could have a concussion." Ruby strolled into the study sipping a glass of water. Regina felt a momentary surge of irritation that the girl had presumed to wander around the kitchen and help herself. Heaven knows what she might've broken or how much of a mess she made. If there were water spots on her counter . . .

"She doesn't have a concussion. She's drained from the magic expenditure." The Mayor gave a clipped response. She hardly expected a werewolf to understand such things. The amount of magic Vivien had used in the library would level any ordinary enchanter for days. It had caused a small seed of suspicion to begin growing in the back of her mind.

"When will she wake up?" Ruby came and sat in one of the comfier chairs facing the couch. Regina bit her tongue to hold back words demanding she dust herself off first. The white upholstery would show anything that the waitress had on her clothes. Dust, kitchen grease, fur, semen . . .She forcefully pushed down her revulsion before it could show on her face.

"I don't know. It could be another hour or she may rest all night. You hardly need to wait up." The veiled suggestion was probably too subtle to make her point.

"I want to make sure she's ok." Ruby rested her glass on an end table and leaned forward. She hadn't even tried to use the coaster. Regina felt her irritation and weariness come to a head.

"She will be fine, Miss Lucas. I'm sure your grandmother is wondering where you are, as must half the men in the restaurant. I won't detain you any longer." The small brunette rose, grabbed the glass and forcefully set it on the coaster two inches from where it had left a water ring. The noise made Vivien stir slightly. Her mouth didn't move but she made a vaguely irritated humming noise from behind closed lips.

"How do I know she'll be safe here?" Ruby rose to her feet, easily a head taller than Regina but somehow not as intimidating as she usually would like.

"I think I might know a bit more about magic fatigue than a waitress with pole-dancing ambitions." The mayor's lip curled into the disdainful smirk that so often accompanied her scathing judgments.

Ruby was obviously regretting having called Regina into the situation but it was too late to undo. Offensive and aggravating as the words were, there could be no arguing that the smaller woman was right. Granny was going to be furious over being left alone in the diner for over two hours and Ruby knew about as much about magic as she did medicine. Hell, if Regina wanted to kill Vivien the waitress wouldn't have a clue until it was already too late to stop. But being right didn't make her any more endearing.

"You're a bitch, Regina." Ruby finally pronounced, backing away from their challenging stance.

"A bit ironic coming from you, dear." Regina's snarling smile settled into a more triumphant expression.

"I'll see myself out." Ruby grabbed the water glass, drained it and then deliberately set it back down on the table. It was small and petty but it helped her feel better about losing.

Regina waited until she heard the front door slam behind the waitress before grabbing the glass and throwing it into the fireplace, the exploding shards almost as satisfying as a fireball. The succession of noises drew Vivien closer to consciousness but she still didn't wake. Her fingers and eyelids fluttered and twitched, melding stimuli from two worlds into her sleep.

"Stupid." the mutter was barely understandable through her slightly parted lips. Regina looked down at her in surprise and sat on the ottoman, leaning close.

"What?" she asked quietly, hoping that Lake was a sleep talker.

"Hmmm." The next sound was too quiet to discern.

"What's stupid, Vivien?" Regina kept her tone low and soothing, knowing she had to insinuate her words into the sleeper's dream without waking her; without being noticed. She'd done the same with Henry was he was small, using words to protect his dreams.

"Hmmm. Humans," Vivien slapped her hand in the air, like she was driving away an insect, "Stupid, stupid humans."

Regina leaned back. The seed in her mind had now taken root, grown into a large plant and was flowering into full-blown conviction. She had counted at least nine active spells in the library today. That was too many for mere human magic.

Regina had never tried more than five – her battle with Maleficent had only required three. Even her mother at her most powerful could barely sustain six spells at a time, let alone after 28 years out of practice. Not to mention trying to maintain that many would put her in a state of consumed trance that left her completely unable to communicate or defend herself. Rumplestiltskin and his dark powers might -_might_ - be able to carry seven and still answer basic yes/no questions. But nine? And she'd barely even been aware of some of them. She'd been talking and yelling and crying as though she didn't even know she was flinging magic around like a child with toys.

"Bloody, stupid humans." Vivien muttered once more for emphasis. Regina smirked a little. Stupid indeed. Until now.

* * *

Vivien was vaguely aware of an enticing smell from nearby. The faintly sweet, smoky and sharp smell that accompanied many of the most delicious sipping beverages. She slit one eye open and spotted the glass of amber liquid on the coffee table in front of her. Everything in her vision was sleep-blurred but she could still see the sweat on the glass and the gently floating ice. Reaching out tentatively she was relieved to find her motor control had returned.

Once the glass was near her nose she placed the familiarity of the smell with the room. Regina's apple cider. The kind that makes Calvados sit and weep from an inferiority complex. She lifted her head slightly, feeling the throbbing pain in one temple but took a long swallow and waited for the pain to dull. It took mere seconds for the liquid heat to course down her throat, through her muscles and coil around the headache, numbing its grip.

"Feeling better?" The casual, authoritative voice edged with humor had almost the same effect as the alcohol. Vivien finally consented to open her other eye (the two had trouble synchronizing for a moment) and found Regina lounging in a wingback chair across from her with legs crossed and cradling her own crystal glass of amber relief. Regal as ever.

"Than what?" Her tongue and lips were working as a team now – particularly since they'd been so enlivened by the cider but her voice sounded raw as sand paper. Her brain was quickly coming back to life, synapses booting up and firing like the circuit board of a much abused computer.

"Well, better than in the library for a start." Regina leaned forward, chin poised in her hand studiously.

"Before or after you punched me? Because I'm pretty sure I didn't have a bruise before that." Vivien wanted to be sitting upright for this conversation but she knew she didn't dare move too soon. Just lifting her head to sip the cider had made everything spin. She could feel the bruise when she smiled.

"I do apologize. It seemed necessary at the time." The way Regina's eyes shot to the side for a moment bespoke a combination of irritation and sincerity. She was irritated about having to be sincere. _Or possibly just sincerely irritated._ Vivien felt like her thoughts were trying to play a game of tag and hide-and-go-seek all at the same time.

"Why?" The only thought that wasn't chasing its own tail leapt out her mouth.

"You were rather close to doing severe harm to a number of somewhat innocent bystanders. As well as to yourself, although I think that damage may already be done. Much as I abhor direct, physical violence it was the only obvious solution." She didn't look like she'd abhorred it _that_ much.

"No, I mean why- ," Vivien pushed herself halfway up and closed her eyes against the violently lurching room, "Why did you come help me? You should've cleared everyone out and gotten away."

Lake wasn't even sitting fully upright but she steadied her gaze hard on Regina, determined to watch for the slightest tell. Today had _not_ gone as planned. She couldn't remember everything too clearly but she knew she hadn't expected to wake up here. She hadn't intended to wake up at all.

Regina set her glass down on the end table, hitting the coaster dead center without even looking. She folded her hands in her lap and met the penetrating gaze without even a flutter of the eyelid. Apparently she had also been pondering the same question. She had to have known it would be coming. Any sane person – particularly any villain – knows how to survive. Which is almost always a case of cutting losses. Assess the situation, calculate the cost, sacrifice what you must and get out alive.

"You were waiting outside Hopper's." Regina offered the minimal explanation. Her eyes didn't slide away but they softened a shade. Lake had to pause her train of thought and back track just to remember what the woman was talking about.

"I hadn't heard from you all day." The memory from the previous week came into focus. There were a lot of gaps; things Regina had never shared or explained. Lake had just known something was wrong.

"A lot happened and I had nowhere else to go. I must've been in with that damn shrink for two hours." She scowled at the memory, at the vulnerability it revealed. Vivien didn't know what had driven Regina to go to Hopper for help but it had been a turning point. The Evil Queen seemed less evil by the day.

"I just know it was well after 10 when you came out." Lake recalled staring at her watch as the minutes ticked over into hours.

She hadn't even been sure what she was doing there. When she'd realized it was 8pm and she hadn't gotten a reply from the Mayor all day – not even to some of her more sarcastic jibes – she'd grown worried. It had taken the better part of an hour and a lot of phone calls and texts to track down anyone who'd seen Regina or knew where she was. She'd almost been willing to talk to Rumplestiltskin but at the last minute decided to ask David instead. It was the right call; Charming hadn't told her anything specific but had suggested that Regina might have needed to talk to someone. It was all the clue Lake needed.

"You were waiting when I came out. You didn't say anything, didn't ask any questions; you didn't even let Hopper see you." Regina smiled ever so slightly at that, pleased at the high regard Vivien had shown for her privacy. That hadn't been hard to figure out – Lake had scoured the block for Regina's car but didn't find it; which meant that the reclusive, dignified Mayor didn't want _anyone_ knowing she was there. It also might have meant that she'd come the whole way on foot, too upset to even drive.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay." She had been able to see that Regina had been crying and swore to herself she'd never let on that she could tell. The former queen had been shocked to see her, angry for a moment and even frightened that anyone would know she'd been weak. Except she was in no shape to maintain facades. Vivien had just held up her car keys and led the way out without a word.

"So did I." Regina concluded her answer. Vivien hadn't realized that they were talking about the past and present at once. There was a stretched moment of silence as both of the women dealt with the discomfort of the mutual understanding. Friendships are few and far between in the life of magical megalomaniacs. They also usually end in tragedy.

Vivien took another sip of the liquor and sized up the woman on the other side of the coffee table. She was pretty sure Regina could handle the risks of being considered her friend. Most of them. All but one, anyway.

Regina must've seen the inward flicker of Vivien's thoughts because she lifted her drink, took a sip and then picked up something off the end table.

"I answered your question. Now it's your turn." she was making a request but in a tone of voice that would brook no refusal.

"I'll try." Vivien leaned forward, braced for the barrage of questions and already thinking how to best deflect them. What would be the first question?

_What did you find in the library?_

_ Why were you so upset?_

_ Where did all that magic come from?_

_ Who are you and where the hell are you from?_

Vivien's mind was back in gear and moving smoothly through a litany of answers that would skirt the truth. Sadly, lying always took less thought than any kind of honesty.

"Catch." Regina broke the chain of thoughts with a flick of her wrist and Vivien found something small and dark hurtling at her face. She caught it easily, the burst of adrenaline fine-tuning her motor control. It hit her hand hard enough to sting and she examined the object curiously. It was a chess piece from the decorative set that adorned on of the accent tables. _A queen. Of course_. It was almost black and the feel of its weight in her hands told Vivien it had to be solid metal. Wrought iron?

"You know you could put someone's eye out playing like that." She chastised Regina, completely confused about where this game was heading. Anything that postponed interrogation was nice.

"So, you're not an Elf. They can't abide the touch of iron. I ruled out Fey earlier as well. Too tall for a dwarf, too nice for an imp and too groomed to be a wolf."

"Regina . . ." Vivien tried to find a rebuttal but the words on her tongue had all gone in reverse. Her carefully marshaled thoughts and deflections had shattered as surely as if the sculpture had hit her brain. She hadn't been anticipating this avenue of conversation.

"Don't try it, Lake," Mills' playful tone took on a little more bite, "You aren't human. I should've seen it sooner. You were lucky. I've been preoccupied with Henry and lately a bit distracted by other tedious affairs."

"Like Soul Eaters and then Emma and Snow disappearing." Vivien couldn't quite wrap her mind around such things as merely 'tedious.' It was one of Regina's many euphemistic turns of phrase that bordered on purely ironic.

"But I'm no longer distracted. In fact, you have the whole of my attention at this moment."

Well, THAT sounded like a threat.

"Are we still in the warm, fuzzy, 'I'm happy you're ok' conversation? I feel we've shifted a bit." Vivien instinctively glanced at the windows, looking for her escape path. It was an old survival instinct - like always having a secret tunnel out of your lair and preferably two or three trap doors.

"You wrecked absolute havoc on the library today and I daresay a fair number of businesses on either side. Which was a mere game of tiddlywinks compared to what you were preparing to unleash before I intervened,"

(There was another one of those tactful euphemisms. 'Intervened' sounded so much better than 'laid you out flatter than a witch's tit.')

"You have the potential to cause tremendous harm and what I saw today makes me doubt your ability to control such powers. You need to start convincing me you are not a threat to StoryBrooke. Fast."

Regina had kept her gaze riveted on Lake, her expression getting harder with every word until her eyes had turned to shards of glittering flint. It was the kind of stare that would normally accompany an attack, an emotional invasion, some violent penetration of the brain that would leave all excuses and motives laid bare and trembling. She hadn't plunged the invisible daggers in. Not yet.

"What do you want me to do?" Vivien met the gaze full on and leaned forward, bracing her elbows on her knees. She rubbed her thumb over the carved edges of the queen in her palm. The message seemed clear now: _your_ _move_. She'd only get one.

"Tell me who you are." the nonchalant gesture of Regina's hand was a lackadaisical command, a vestige of her days of royalty. It summed up equal parts invitation, dismissal and edict.

Vivien's sharp, bitter laughter was an instinctive reaction.

"That is the last thing that would ever convince you I'm harmless! Believe me, I read the stories – I know what everyone thinks they know. No one in their right mind would trust me, not even you."

"Then I suppose you're out of luck." Regina's hard glare turned to stone, impenetrable and apathetic. She rose to her feet, no doubt to issue orders for immediate execution. To be followed by a nice pedicure.

"Wait! I can meet you half way. I can tell you what I am. I can tell you my story – the parts the books didn't know or couldn't get right. Let me explain that much and then you can decide!" Vivien extended her hand with the chess piece in it. The black queen stood serenely in her palm, gazing at Regina without eyes.

_The final move is yours, Your Majesty.__  
_Regina lingered in deliberation longer than Vivien would have liked. Then, finally, the Mayor resumed her seat. She crossed her legs, folded her arms and settled back in the manner of a judge hearing opening statements. The message of her body was clear: Vivien could take as long as she wanted to get the story right, because she was only going to get one try.


End file.
